On Saturday morning, the UK Border Force intercept approximately 54 migrants who stormed a beach in Kent after making it across the English channel on a flotilla of small boats.
Upon reaching a Dover beach, the migrants were detained by officers and taken in for questioning. The British coastguard then initiated a search and rescue operation amid fears that others may have lost their lives along the way, the Mirror reports.
Police in Kent stated in an announcement that they and the South East Ambulance Service are working to hand the migrants over to the relevant authorities.
A spokeswoman for the Border Force said, “HM Coastguard has been coordinating a search and rescue response to a number of incidents on the Kent coast, working with Border Force, Kent Police, and other partners.”
Just a day before, British Home Secretary Priti Patel mentioned that she and her counterpart in France were working hard to stop migrants from making the dangerous journey across the channel.
In a tweet, Patel wrote: “Delighted to meet with my French Ministerial counterpart @CCastaner this afternoon where we agreed to intensify our joint work to tackle illegal immigration & stop the trafficking & exploitation of people.”
“It’s vital we ensure our collective expertise is used to stop the boats from leaving French shores and dismantle the criminal networks driving this activity,” she added.
As to where the migrants embarked from, that remains unknown.
Since last week, close to 270 migrants have been intercepted by British and French authorities
This year, over 1,000 migrants have attempted to make their way across the English channel through the Dover straight – the world’s most busy shipping lane. Most of the migrants are from Iraq and Iran.