LONDON — A small boat carrying migrants capsized in the English Channel early Wednesday, according to British maritime authorities, beginning a major rescue operation involving Britain and France.
The status of the passengers and the condition of the boat are unknown. British Coast Guard lifeboats and helicopters were involved in evacuating passengers from the crash site, as were Royal Navy patrol boats, French Navy helicopters and fishing boats French fish.
There have been unconfirmed reports of deaths after several passengers were thrown overboard. However, authorities declined to provide details about the number of people involved or the nature of the crash.
The UK Maritime and Coast Guard said in a statement that it was coordinated search and rescue operations for “an incident involving a small boat off Kent, working with the Navy, Border Force, Kent Police and other partners.”
Volunteer lifeboats were dispatched from several locations along the Kent coast and the station in Dungeness confirmed they were still trying to rescue people in the Channel before 9am.
According to data from the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, their boat began to be brought into the Channel around 2am on Wednesday, although officials have yet to confirm when the boat in distress was first spotted. first.
A spokesman for the British Coast Guard said helicopters from Lydd and Lee-on-the-Solent, southern England, and one from the French Navy were involved in the rescue and a fishing boat. Fish is also assisting. “Kent Police and South East Coast Ambulance are working with us and an air ambulance has been dispatched,” the spokesperson added.
The accident happened a day after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced plans to try to cut the number of migrants passing through of the Channel. Mr Sunak said Britain would find a way to deal with the huge backlog of asylum applications.
The number of people who tried to cross the dangerous boat was swollen in the past year, posing a political problem for the Conservative government. Mr. Sunak has insisted on denying asylum requests from Albania, which has become one of the top sources of migrants using the strait route.
“We have to stop the boats and this government will do what has to be done,” Mr. Sunak said in a statement to Parliament on Tuesday.
Suella Braverman, UK home secretary and minister responsible for the country’s immigration policies, said in a statement that she was made aware of a “traumatic incident in the Channel”, adding, ” My condolences to all involved.”
Ms Braverman has been the target of fierce criticism from human rights groups for her harsh stance towards people arriving in Britain by small boat, including her strong support for a that program will send asylum seekers to Rwanda by that means, in central Africa. At one point, she said she “dreams” of seeing the first flights take off.
This policy has been challenged in British courts and so far no asylum seekers have been sent to the African country.
Last month, England and France signed a new agreement to try to prevent small boat crossings, with Britain agreeing to pay France 72.2 million euros, about $76.4 million, in 2022 and 2023 to increase patrols on northern beaches France.
The dangers of overtaking are well illustrated when an inflatable canoe carries 30 people capsized in French territorial waters near Calais and Dunkirk in November 2021. 27 passengers were killed in the crash, the deadliest since migration groups began collecting data.
The incident came on Wednesday as temperatures in the UK had dropped below freezing for several days in a row and when conditions in the Channel became particularly dangerous during the winter months.
