More migrants rescued from Channel following crossing death

Dozens of people, believed to be migrants, have been brought ashore on the Kent coast the day after a man died while trying to cross the English Channel.

Photos show two boats arriving, each carrying around 30 people including children, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

One of the craft was brought in to Dover while the second group were brought ashore at Dungeness.

A man carries a baby
A man carries a baby ashore at Dover (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The groups were rescued in pitch-black conditions by the RNLI following two small boat incidents in the Channel.

On Friday, a Sudanese man in his 20s was found unconscious and pulled from the water after going overboard as he and others attempted to reach the UK, according to French authorities.

Migrant Channel crossing incidents
(PA/ Gareth Fuller) The group were rescued following a small boat incident in the Channel (Gareth Fuller/PA)

A manslaughter investigation has been opened, the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor said.

In that incident, a total of 32 people were rescued off Berck, near Calais, in a state of hypothermia, authorities said.

Migrant Channel crossing incidents
(PA/ Gareth Fuller) A man carries a baby as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dungeness, Kent, after being rescued by the RNLI

More than 450 people have made the life-threatening trip across the Channel in small boats in 2022, following a record-breaking year in 2021.

At least 271 people aboard 10 small boats reached the UK on Thursday, including a young child wrapped up in an orange lifejacket and wearing a beanie hat.

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