At least six people dead and dozens rescued as migrant boat crossing Channel capsizes
At least six people have died and dozens of others have been rescued after a migrant boat crossing the English Channel capsized.
At least 50 people have been rescued, French authorities said.
A search and rescue operation involving five French ships, two British ships and a helicopter is under way following the incident off Cap Gris Nez in northern France.
Local mayor Franck Dhersin said a vast rescue operation was launched at around 4am UK time, as dozens of boats tried to make the crossing at the same time.
He said: “Near Sangatte they unfortunately found dead people”.
A UK government spokesperson says it is “aware of the incident in the Channel”, adding: “HM Coastguard are working on a coordinated response and further information will be provided in due course.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman chaired a meeting with Border Force officials who have been responding to the incident on Saturday morning.
She posted on Twitter, formerly known as X, and said: “My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the tragic loss of life in the Channel today.”
The tragedy happened as Conservative ministers face calls to quit after Legionella bacteria was found on the Bibby Stockholm barge housing migrants – in what has been branded a “complete and utter farce”.
‘Government has blood on its hands’
A union boss warned the UK government has “blood on its hands” over the Channel tragedy and described its approach a “moral disgrace”.
Head of bargaining at the Public and Commercial Services union, Paul O’Connor said: “There is a readily available policy to prevent this tragic loss of life.
“Unfortunately, our calls on the government to adopt it have fallen only stony ground. It’s clear they have no desire to prevent these dangerous crossings.
“Instead, they’re pouring taxpayers’ money down the drain on policies which are unlawful, unworkable and doomed to failure.”
Ministers “want to scapegoat refugees” in a bid to distract from “catastrophic failings” on people’s living standards,” Mr O’Connor said.
“They don’t care that people die as a result. They have blood on their hands.”
Conservative MP for Dover, Natalie Elphicke, said the tragedy underlines the need for joint patrols in the Channel.
“These overcrowded and unseaworthy deathtraps should obviously be stopped by the French authorities from leaving the French coast in the first place.
“The time has come for joint patrols on the French coast and a cross-Channel security zone before any more lives are lost.”
Desperate efforts to bale water out of sinking ship using shoes
One volunteer who was on board one of the rescue boats described the migrants’ frantic efforts to bale water out of their sinking vessel using their shoes.
Anne Thorel said: “We saved 54 people, including one woman… There were too many of them on the (migrant) boat.”
Meanwhile, France’s Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea said: “Unfortunately, six people were recovered in serious condition and one of them, evacuated by helicopter to Calais hospital, was declared dead.”
In a later statement, the French authorities added that five people rescued by the vessel Notre Dame du Risban were also pronounced dead.
The five deceased, together with 37 other people, have been taken to the port of Calais.
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HM Coastguard said it is assisting French authorities in response to the incident involving a “small boat”, adding that a Dover RNLI lifeboat has been sent as part of that assistance with Folkestone and Langdon Bay coastguard rescue teams.
Ten people collected by an RNLI boat were taken to Dover – however the vessel had survivors of another operation on board.
French authorities said: “The exact count of the people collected on each of the boats is not easy.
“The human toll in the British sector is being consolidated.”
An investigation has now been opened by the prosecutor’s office in Boulogne, a city on the coast of northern France.
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The number of people who have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the past five years has passed 100,000.
The incident comes as Rishi Sunak‘s government spent the week making announcements about its efforts to reduce the number of asylum seekers, hoping to win support from voters as the ruling Conservative Party trails in opinion polls.
Thursday’s figures were recorded as another major search and rescue operation was launched after 17 migrants went overboard and were pulled from the water.
The Home Office said they were all taken ashore for medical checks.
A body has been found in the search for 23-year-old runner Jenny Hall.
She was last seen leaving her home in Barracks Farm, County Durham, in her car just after 3pm on Tuesday.
Police said there are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances after a body was found in a very remote area in Teesdale on Sunday morning, five days after she went missing.
Jenny Hall went missing on Tuesday. Pic: Durham Constabulary
“We’re sorry to report that officers searching for missing woman Jenny Hall, have sadly found a body,” Durham Constabulary said in a statement.
“Officers carried out an extensive search alongside specialist partners and have been working around-the-clock to locate Jenny after she went missing on February 18.
“The body was found in a very remote area in Teesdale just after 9.30am today.
“Formal identification has yet to take place. Jenny’s family have been notified and are currently being supported by specialist officers. They have asked for privacy at this devasting time.
“It is not believed there are any suspicious circumstances and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”
A major police search was launched after Ms Hall’s disappearance.
Her car, a red Ford Focus, was found on Wednesday parked on the B6278, near remote moorland between Eggleston and Stanhope.
Mountain rescue teams, specialist drones and sniffer dogs had been combing the Hamsterley Forest and the surrounding areas, where there are a number of running trails, this week.
Digital intelligence officers also carried out extensive inquiries into Ms Hall’s mobile phone, smart watch and running apps.
A fresh amber weather warning for heavy rain has been issued by the Met Office – with much of the UK already on alert for high winds and showers.
Northern Ireland, Scotland and the UK’s west coast and the Midlands have yellow warnings for wind on Sunday – meaning the possibility of transport delays and short-term power cuts.
There are also rain warnings in place for several parts of western UK.
The new amber warning has been issued for rain in south and central Wales and is in force from 3pm on Sunday to 6am on Monday.
An amber warning means danger to life from floodwater, homes and businesses are likely to be flooded, and there is a chance some communities will be cut off.
Winds across the west of the UK will increase throughout the morning with gusts up to 70mph in exposed areas, the Met Office said.
Zoe Hutin, a meteorologist at the forecaster, said Sunday is expected to be the “worst day” before conditions improve.
“The wind warning itself for the mainland UK ends at 6pm, but we can expect to continue to see quite blustery conditions even into the evening as the mainland rain itself pushes through.”
She added: “By the time people get up on Monday, we’ll still have some of the residual rain from that front in the far south-east of the country, and quite cloudy across England as well.
“But actually elsewhere, it could be a decent start.”
The Met Office’s yellow weather warnings for much of England and Scotland came into force at 6am and are expected to run until 6pm on Sunday.
A separate yellow warning for Northern Ireland came into force at 3am and runs until 3pm.
Rain and high winds are expected across the west of the UK
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People who have noticed some slightly higher temperatures the last couple of days may be dismayed at the latest predictions.
“Through the week, those temperatures are trending back down,” Ms Hutin said.
“And so it will be getting cooler each day, but they will actually just be recovering to around average for the time of year. So it won’t be cold.
“It will just be returning back to where we would expect to be for this time of February.”
Sir Keir Starmer has said the United States “is right” about the UK and Europe needing to take more responsibility for defence and security.
The prime minister, speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Sunday, said he is clear Britain “will take a leading responsibility” in protecting the continent.
“Instability in Europe always washes up on our shores,” he said.
“And this is a generational moment. I’ve been saying for some time that we Europeans – including the United Kingdom – have to do more for our defence and security. The US is right about that.”
He added “we can’t cling to the comforts of the past” as it is “time to take responsibility for our security”.
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Sir Keir has said he will set out a path for the UK to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence, up from the current 2.3%, but has not indicated when that will be.
It is believed he may announce the details when he visits Mr Trump in Washington DC on Thursday, bringing forward the announcement that was expected in the spring when a defence spending review is published.
The prime minister reiterated the UK will “play our role” if required in Ukraine following a peace agreement after he earlier this week said the UK would send troops to be part of a peacekeeping force.
Sir Keir will meet Donald Trump in the White House on Thursday. Pic: AP
However, his comments caused a row with Germany and Italy who said it was premature to commit to boots on the ground, although France agreed with the UK.
Sir Keir said: “As we enter a new phase in this conflict, we must now deepen our solidarity even further.”
He added: “There can be no discussion about Ukraine without Ukraine.
“And the people of Ukraine must have long-term security.”
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This week has seen US officials meet their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia to discuss Ukraine – which has been met with indignation by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as none of his team were invited.
No Europeans were invited either, sparking concern the US is pandering to Vladimir Putin.
Sir Keir has promised Mr Zelenskyy he will make the case for safeguarding Ukraine’s sovereignty when he meets with Mr Trump, who has called the Ukrainian president a dictator.
Mr Trump also said Sir Keir and French President Emmanuel Macron, who will visit the White House too this week, “haven’t done anything” to end the war.
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