Four people have died following an incident involving a small boat off the coast of Kent in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the UK government has said.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency confirmed that a search and rescue mission began on Wednesday, with the HM Coastguard working in co-ordination with other relevant bodies, including the Border Force, Royal Navy and Kent police.
“At 0305 today, authorities were alerted to an incident in the Channel concerning a migrant small boat in distress,” a UK government spokesperson said.
“After a co-ordinated search and rescue operation led by HM Coastguard, it is with regret that there have been four confirmed deaths as a result of this incident. Investigations are ongoing and we will provide further information in due course.”
The incident comes just one day after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak outlined his new immigration strategy, which he said was aimed at creating fairness for asylum seekers and British taxpayers and breaking “the stranglehold of the criminal gangs” fuelling migration across the English Channel.
UK home secretary Suella Braverman offered her “heartfelt thoughts” to those involved in the accident. Writing on Twitter, she said that she was aware of the “distressing incident” and was being kept updated while agencies “respond and urgently establish the full facts”. She added: “My heartfelt thoughts are with all those involved.”
Natalie Elphicke, Conservative MP for Dover and Deal, offered her “thoughts and prayers” to those involved.
Since taking office, Sunak’s government has come under increased pressure from his backbenchers to tackle the small boat migrant crisis, which has seen more than 40,000 people cross the English Channel this year. This compares with 28,526 people in 2021.
On Tuesday, Sunak announced the creation of a Small Boats Command Centre to co-ordinate policing of the Channel and increased funding for the National Crime Agency.
“We have to stop the boats. And this government will do what must be done,” he told MPs.
Campaign groups and charities have been calling on the government to open up safer routes for people wishing to seek asylum and have urged ministers to learn lessons from previous tragedies, including the deaths of at least 27 people whose rubber dinghy capsized during an attempt to cross the Channel in November 2021.
“Sadly, this is not the first time we are waking up to such devastating news of people having lost their lives on a harrowing journey to Britain in search of safety,” said Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council.
“We will be monitoring the situation carefully and in the meantime we thank all those people who have expressed their sympathy and solidarity with those affected by today’s horrendous incident.”
