Search underway after small boat ‘incident’ in English Channel, Home Office says

A major search and rescue operation is underway in the English Channel after a small boat “incident” in French waters.

A Government spokesperson said French authorities are leading the response and investigation.

A helicopter from the UK coastguard that took off from Lydd airbase in Kent and RNLI vessels from Ramsgate and Dover were also asssiting in the search, tracking data showed.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “We can confirm there has been an incident in the Channel involving a small boat in French waters.

RNLI vessels from Ramsgate and Dover were also part of the search

“French authorities are leading the response and investigation. We will not be commenting further at this stage.”

Nikolai Posner, from the aid group Utopia 56, said as many as 1,000 migrants may have attempted to cross overnight, with the group receiving a lot of distress calls from boats.

“What we are seeing is that there is a lot of rescue boats on the French side of the border,” he told i.

“We got a lot of difficult situations since yesterday evening. And we don’t have the capacity to say at the moment if it’s a boat that has called us. But we informed the coastguard multiple times since yesterday evening.

“Yesterday a lot of people have tried, probably between 500 and 1,000, minimum 500. Yesterday from the camps you could see the people leaving so you would know that it was going to be a crazy night and day.”

In January, five migrants died in French waters while trying to cross the Channel after a boat carrying roughly 70 people, overturned.

(This story is being updated)