Eastbourne migrants rescue: Five people taken to hospital after Channel crossing

Around 30 people on board an inflatable dinghy were taken ashore in Sovereign Harbour yesterday afternoon after the boat got stranded in a shipping lane around 23 miles south of Beachy Head.

Several of those involved were children.

The Herald understands five of the passengers were taken to hospital while the rest were taken by coach to the detention centres in Gatwick.

The Channel crossers include migrants from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, the Herald understands.

According to the Home Office, Eastbourne’s rescue was one of six incidents involving a total of 103 migrants along the coast yesterday.

The minister for immigration compliance and the courts, Chris Philp, said: “People should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach and not risk their lives making a dangerous and illegally-facilitated crossing.

“The Government has taken substantial steps to tackle this unacceptable problem of illegal migration. These efforts have contributed to a 70 per cent reduction in crossings since September on fair-weather days, by direct intervention on the French beaches. This means that we have been able to change the patterns of crossings that resulted in a surge of small boat activity 2018 and 2019.

“Post EU exit, this Government will work to fix the broken asylum system. Legislative changes to the law are being made to enable cases to be treated as inadmissible if they have travelled through a safe country. The Government will continue to seek to return those with no legal right to remain in the UK.”

A spokesman for the Home Office said three boats, carrying a total of 29 people, were stopped from entering UK waters by the French authorities yesterday.

Read more about yesterday’s rescue here:

Children among dozens of suspected migrants stranded in a dinghy off EastbourneEastbourne migrants safely on land after rescue operationEastbourne suspected migrants: Pictures show dozens of people, including children, being rescued