Thirty migrants rescued off Kent coast as migrants attempt crossings around Europe

A search and rescue operation has recovered 30 migrants off the Kent coast, the Home Office has said.

A spokesman said the Border Force had dealt with four small boat incidents – the first at around 4am and the last at 7am.

One witness told Kent Online the migrants were being brought ashore at Dover’s Western Docks and that some of the people were in canoes.

This has not been confirmed by authorities.

HM Coastguard earlier said it was responding to “a number of incidents off Kent”.

A Border Force cutter and a coastal patrol vessel intercepted the boats and the 30 people – including 27 men, one woman and two minors – were taken to Dover.

All said they were either Iranian or Afghan and were found to be well.

Sky News was originally told there were up to 50 migrants rescued, but this figure has been revised to 30.

In a statement, the Home Office said: “Anyone crossing the Channel in a small boat is taking a huge risk with their life and the lives of their children.

“Since December, two cutters have returned to UK waters from overseas operations, we have agreed a joint action plan with France and increased activity out of the Joint Coordination and Information Centre in Calais.

“It is an established principle that those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach and since January more than 60 people who arrived illegally in the UK on small boats have been returned to Europe.”

A spokesperson for the coastguard said the agency was “only concerned with preservation of life, rescuing those in trouble and bringing them safely back to shore, where they will be handed over to the relevant partner emergency services or authorities”.

Another boat carrying 11 migrants, including two teenagers, was rescued off the coast of Boulogne by French authorities in the early hours of this morning after it flipped over.

The migrants managed to phone authorities and some were found clinging to the boat’s hull, while others were in the water.

Two were suffering from mild hypothermia and another had a knee injury, but they did not need to be taken to hospital.

On the same day, a ship operated by French humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders rescued 80 migrants from a rubber dinghy off the Libyan coast.

Activists said they were alerted to the boat in distress and managed to ferry the migrants to the Norwegian-flagged Ocean Viking rescue ship.

Meanwhile, Spanish humanitarian ship Open Arms – which is carrying 121 migrants on board – is stuck in the Mediterranean Sea off Italy for an eighth day.

No European government is offering safe refuge to those on board and the vessel will face a fine of up to €1m (£928,543) if it enters Italian waters.

Hollywood star Richard Gere has visited migrants on the ship, delivering food and supplies and urging others to support the cause.

This follows the detention of almost 40 migrants who crossed the Channel last weekend.

The migrants said they were Iranian and Iraqi and were interviewed by immigration officials.

A record 71 million people across the world have been displaced by war, persecution and violence, a June 2019 report by the United Nations said.

(c) Sky News 2019: Thirty migrants rescued off Kent coast as migrants attempt crossings around Europe