'Migrants use jet-ski' for dangerous English Channel crossing

15 November 2021, 16:54 | Updated: 15 November 2021, 16:59

A jet-ski thought to have been used in a migrant crossing is brought in to Dungeness, Kent, by the RNLI after being intercepted in the Channel
A jet-ski thought to have been used in a migrant crossing is brought in to Dungeness, Kent, by the RNLI after being intercepted in the Channel. Picture: Alamy

By James Morris

A jet-ski is believed to have been used by migrants to cross the English Channel today.

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The boat was recovered at sea by the RNLI and towed ashore in Dungeness, Kent.

Lifeboat crews were seen towing the jet-ski onto the beach this morning.

The boat was pictured upside-down as it was brought ashore.

The jet-ski was upside-down as it was brought ashore.
The jet-ski was upside-down as it was brought ashore. Picture: Alamy

The RNLI is believed to have been tasked to an incident, leading to suspicions that the jet-ski was used in a Channel crossing.

It confirmed it had been co-ordinating a search and rescue response to an incident off Kent and had sent a lifeboat.

Police officers were later seen inspecting the boat.

A police officer inspects the boat after it was brought ashore in Dungeness.
A police officer inspects the boat after it was brought ashore in Dungeness. Picture: Alamy

It came as young children were carried ashore in Dover today after dozens more people risked death crossing the Channel.

A toddler wrapped in a light blue hoodie looked around at border officials as he was carried in the arms of a woman.

The pair, possibly mother and child, were closely followed by an older child and a man after they and others were brought into the Kent port aboard a Border Force patrol boat.

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Monday's arrivals come after 1,185 people reached the UK aboard small boats on Thursday, a new record for a single day in the current crisis.

More than 23,500 people have now reached the UK after crossing the English Channel on board small boats this year, according to the PA news agency.

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A flurry of crossings over the last two weeks have reignited tensions between Britain and France over how the issue should be tackled.

Home secretary Priti Patel is believed to be meeting with her French counterpart Gerald Darmanin today for another round of crunch talks about Channel crossings.

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