One dead and 50 rescued after migrant boat sinks in English Channel | UK News

A person has died and five others are in a ‘serious’ conditions after a boat carrying asylum seekers sank in the English Channel.

Up to 50 people have been rescued following a joint operation by the British and French coastguards.

The extent of the other injuries is unclear but a number of people were seen being brought off a lifeboat on stretchers in Dover.

A lifeboat crew was launched just before 04:00 BST, the RNLI confirmed.

Up to six people were taken by helicopter to a hospital in Calais with one person later pronounced dead, France’s Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea confirmed.

As of August 10, 15,826 people have crossed the Channel in a small boat this year.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman will chair a meeting with Border Force officials, it is understood.

Ms Braverman will hold the meeting with Small Boats Operational Command Gold this morning.

A UK Government spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of an incident in the Channel. HM Coastguard are working on a co-ordinated response and further information will be provided in due course.’

Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.

Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.