Search for migrants in freezing Channel continues after four confirmed dead and 39 others rescued as boat capsizes
A major search and rescue operation is continuing in the English Channel, after at least four people died and 39 others were rescued when their small migrant boat capsized.
The operation involving helicopters and lifeboats was launched at around 3am on Wednesday, with some survivors now “fighting for their lives” in hospital.
The boat was carrying up to 50 people – including, it is believed, women and children – when it ran into difficulties.
WARNING: This story contains an image of dead person in the water
Accounts of how the tragedy unfolded have been emerging, as a British fisherman whose crew saved 31 people told Sky News he was woken in the early hours of the morning when migrants surrounded his boat “screaming for help” – and a French charity say they received a mayday call.
People from the small boat scramble up the side of the fishing vessel
‘Help us, help us’, man says in voice note
Skipper Raymond said he then counted 45 people holding onto the collapsed dinghy and surrounding his fishing boat.
Exclusive footage obtained by Sky News shows the moment of the rescue – with scores of people crammed into the small rubber boat shouting for help, as they are pulled to safety by a crew on board a nearby fishing vessel.
He said those he rescued came from Afghanistan, Iraq, Senegal and India, and told him they had each paid £5,000 to a smuggler in France for passage into the UK.
And a French charity which helps migrants in Calais said it received a 22-second WhatsApp voice note at 2.53am from a man on a sinking migrant boat begging for help as babies screamed in the background.
The man said people were in the seawater which had entered the vessel and begged the charity to “help us, help us”, according to Nikolai Posner, a spokesman for the Utopia 56 charity.
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A timeline of the latest Channel tragedy
Some survivors still ‘fighting for their lives’
The charity said the man had also sent the location of the boat. Utopia 56 tried to respond and did not receive an answer and called the French coastguard at 2.57am French time and then emailed the French and British coastguard at 3.13am.
Mr Posner said it first informed the French coastguard because “the first location that we had was in French waters.”
The Royal Navy, French navy, Coastguard and RNLI lifeboats were all involved in a major rescue operation off the Kent coast on Wednesday morning.
RNLI lifeboats were launched from Dover at 3.07am, followed by more from Ramsgate and Hastings.
A Kent MP, Sir Roger Gale told the Commons that some of those rescued were still “fighting for their lives”.
One migrant died while attached to a rope linked to the fisherman’s boat
At least 39 people have been rescued alive
Temperature overnight between zero 0C and 1C
Searches will continue, but at this stage more are feared dead given the freezing conditions of the water, a source told Sky News.
The temperature recorded at Dungeness overnight was between 0C and 1C, according to the Met Office.
British Red Cross director of refugee support Alex Fraser said anyone making the journey under these circumstances “shows just how desperate people are”.
Sunak expresses ‘sorrow’ at incident
“Nobody puts their life at risk like this unless they feel they have no other option, and until we have more accessible safe routes for people to claim asylum, there is a danger we may see more such incidents,” he said.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has expressed his ‘sorrow’ at the incident, telling MPs there had been a “tragic loss of human life”.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said HM Coastguard is working with the RNLI, Royal Navy, Border Force, French navy and Kent Police to look for the boat.
Coastguard rescue teams from Deal, Dungeness and Folkestone have been involved in the operation, along with helicopters from Lydd and Lee on Solent, and another from the French navy also taking part.
Two French vessels – as well as the fishing boat in the area – were also involved.
Forensic tents at the RNLI station at the Port of Dover this morning
A lifeboat returns to the port following the Channel search
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who updated MPs on the situation, said she was aware of the “distressing incident” and is “being kept constantly updated” while agencies respond and “urgently establish the full facts”.
“These are the days that we dread. Crossing the Channel in unseaworthy vessels is a lethally dangerous endeavour,” she told the Commons.
In a joint statement Home Secretary Suella Braverman and the French Home and Overseas Minister Gerald Darmanin described the events as “tragic”.
They added: “Unfortunately, several deaths have been confirmed… A coordinated response to this terrible tragedy has been put in place, with French and British actors working together. We salute the commitment of all those who contributed to it.”
The route of one of the SAR helicopters. Pic: FlightRadar24.com
The incident comes just hours after Mr Sunak promised to bring in new laws to tackle illegal immigration.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was “heartbreaking” there had been more deaths in the Channel, while Dover MP Natalie Elphicke urged Mr Sunak to “meet urgently” with French President Emmanuel Macron to set up joint patrols in the Channel and on the beaches to prevent boats entering the water and to save lives.
People now attempt the journeys all year round in overcrowded vessels, in perilous conditions, unsuitably dressed and often without life jackets – having paid smugglers up to £6,000 each to help them make the crossing.
As of midnight last night, 44,711 people have made the dangerous crossing on board small boats so far this year, according to data analysed by Sky News. This includes 1,087 boats, with an average of 41 people per vessel.
UK
More than 500 people arrested after Palestine Action protest – with almost half aged 60 and above
The number of people arrested after a protest in London on Saturday supporting banned group Palestine Action has risen to 532, police have said.
Around half of them (259) were aged 60 and above – including almost 100 people who were in their 70s.
Some 522 arrests were for displaying a placard in support of a proscribed organisation contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000, according to the Metropolitan Police.
As of 9pm on Saturday, the number was put at 466.
Membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act.
A rally supporting Palestine Action in Parliament Square. Pic: Reuters
One of the arrests took place as the Palestine Coalition march formed in Russell Square, while 521 were at the protest in Parliament Square.
Of those arrested, the biggest number (147) was in the 60-69 age group, while 97 people were aged between 70 and 79, and 15 others were between 80-89.
Six were aged 17-19, sixty-five were in the 20-29 age group, 55 were aged 30-39, 45 were aged 40-49 and 89 were in the 50-59 age group.
The average age of those arrested was 54, while some 263 of those arrested were male, 261 were female and eight either defined themselves as non-binary or did not disclose their gender.
Among the arrests, six were for assaults on officers (none were seriously injured), one was for “obstructing a constable in the execution of his/her duty”, two were for breaching Section 14 Public Order Act conditions, and one was for a racially aggravated public order offence.
People attend the protest in central London. Pic: PA
Hundreds of people attended Saturday’s demonstration in Parliament Square, organised by Defend Our Juries, with the Metropolitan Police warning it would arrest anyone expressing support for Palestine Action.
Anyone who was arrested as part of the operation was taken to one of two prisoner processing points in the Westminster area.
Those whose details could be confirmed were released on bail to appear at a police station at a future date. They were given conditions not to attend future demonstrations related to Palestine Action.
Those who refused to provide their details at the prisoner processing points and those who were found to have been arrested while already on bail, were taken to one of a number of Met Police custody suites.
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Charity Amnesty International described the mass arrests under UK terrorism law as “deeply concerning”.
The crowd, sat on the grass inside Parliament Square, could be seen writing “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” on white placards at 1pm, with the vast majority remaining silent.
Meanwhile on Sunday, hundreds of people joined a march on Downing Street to urge the release of those being held in Gaza by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
A scuffle broke out after at least two men shouted “Free Palestine” in front of the march.
One man was seen being bundled to the ground close to Trafalgar Square after being surrounded by around a dozen people.
Another man was seen being moved away by police officers after he began shouting.
Amnesty International says it is “deeply concerning” that police made 474 arrests during a Palestine Action demonstration in London.
Metropolitan Police said 466 were detained under the Terrorism Act for showing support for a banned group.
Eight more people were arrested for other offences, including five for assaulting officers.
The Met said it was the most arrests it’s made related to a single operation in at least the past decade.
Pic: PA
Organiser of the event, Defend Our Juries, earlier said up to 700 people were at the event in Parliament Square and claimed police were preparing for the “largest mass arrest in their history”.
The group said those arrested included former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, NHS workers, quakers and a blind wheelchair user.
Amnesty International UK’s chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said in a statement: “The protesters in Parliament Square were not inciting violence and it is entirely disproportionate to the point of absurdity to be treating them as terrorists.
“Instead of criminalising peaceful demonstrators, the government should be focusing on taking immediate and unequivocal action to put a stop to Israel’s genocide and ending any risk of UK complicity in it.”
The Met said a “significant number of people” at the event were seen “displaying placards expressing support for Palestine Action”.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The right to protest is one we protect fiercely but this is very different from displaying support for this one specific and narrow, proscribed organisation.
“Palestine Action was proscribed based on strong security advice following serious attacks the group has committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.”
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Palestine Action supporters arrested at protest
Police said those arrested had been taken to processing points in Westminster and any whose details could be confirmed were bailed on condition they didn’t attend further Palestine Action support events.
Others whose details could not be verified, possibly because they refused to give them, were taken to custody suites across London.
Pic: PA
The protests have put a strain on authorities’ capacity to cope.
Sky News understands senior leaders in the prison service, known as “Capacity Gold”, met today to discuss how to deal with the large number of arrests as the male prison estate is close to full.
It’s understood 800 inmates were moved out of the busiest jails in and around London beforehand.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police Federation said: “Thinking of our colleagues and wishing all assaulted officers well. Remember there are no ‘extra’ police officers – just the same ones having their days off cancelled, having to work longer shifts and being moved from other areas. Officers are emotionally and physically exhausted.”
Read more: What does proscribing a group mean?
Legislation to ban Palestine Action came into force on 5 July, making it a criminal offence to show support for the organisation, carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Defend Our Juries said earlier this week the protest would still go ahead, following several similar demonstrations since it was outlawed last month.
On Saturday, a spokesperson said: “Palestine Action and people holding cardboard signs present no danger to the public at large.”
Pic: PA
Human rights advocates Amnesty International described the arrests of so many people under UK terrorism law as “deeply concerning”.
Another march organised by the Palestine Coalition, which is a separate group, set off from Russell Square and assembled on Whitehall.
The Met Police said one person had been arrested there for showing a placard in support of Palestine Action.
Pic: Reuters
Earlier this week, three people charged as a result of illegal Palestine Action activity were named.
Jeremy Shippam, 71, of West Sussex, Judit Murray, also 71, of Surrey, and Fiona Maclean, 53, of Hackney in east London, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 September.
The ban on Palestine Action faces a legal challenge in November after the High Court granted a full judicial review to Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori.
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