British rescue services accused of abandoning 38 Channel migrants in small boat

French coastguards claim the UK said it would rescue the boat when it entered UK waters but failed to do so

An Anglo-French row has broken out after French coastguards accused British Channel rescue services of abandoning a small boat carrying 38 migrants in distress.

Coastguards from the union Solidaires Douanes claimed the UK had said it would rescue the boat when it entered UK waters but failed to do so, leaving it to drift back into the French part of the channel.

They said the migrants, who were “exhausted, afraid and frozen”, were rescued by the French after their engine failed and were taken back to France.

The incident is said to have happened on Jan 2, with the dinghy reaching the UK part of the Channel at about 5.30pm French time, before the migrants being rescued at 9pm.

However, British sources dispute the account, saying the boat never entered UK waters and that there was not a risk to life as it was being shadowed by a French coastguard boat, the Kermorvan.

Channel migrants
Police officers look on as a large group of migrants start their voyage across the Channel from Gravelines beach in France last year Credit: Jamie Lorriman

The source said the British rescue services had been in contact with the French authorities throughout the incident, and British vessels in the area were on standby in case they were needed if the situation had deteriorated. 

They also noted that it was a union, rather than official French authorities, making the claims.

The incident shows how migrants’ small boats are shepherded by the French to the midpoint of the Channel before a hand-over to the British - although in this case, there appears to have been a breakdown in communications.

Rémi Vandeplanque, a French coastguard involved in the rescue operation, said they had started shadowing the boat when it was in French waters and then followed it as it entered UK waters.

It had set off from Gravelines, which is north of Calais, early in the morning, filled with male migrants and one woman, believed to be from Iran, Yemen and west Africa.

Mr Vandeplanque said they had spoken to the UK Border Force vessel Typhoon on the VHF radio, which he claimed had agreed would take over the rescue.

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“I am 100 per cent sure because I was personally on the bridge of the boat when the radio exchange with the Typhoon took place and heard them say that they couldn’t take the migrants on board because they didn’t have room but that another British boat was on its way to help them,” he said.

“I am aware there is a controversy because the British authorities appear to deny that the Typhoon had been called to help or that the migrant boat had crossed into UK waters.

“Their precise position is impossible to prove because we’re talking about a small boat with no beacon, they are too small to be picked up by radar, but I can assure they had entered UK waters.

“And if the French lifeguard (CROSS) allowed us to leave it is because there was indeed a changeover in terms of responsibility (for the migrants) between British and French maritime authorities.”

He added that the dinghy drifted back into French waters, possibly because of engine failure, and those onboard tried to return to UK waters but had difficulty due to the currents, the wind and GPS failures on their phones.

“All I can say is that they had drifted back into French waters when the CROSS rang us half an hour later and told us to return to the boat. At this point they were around 500m inside French waters, so around 20km from the UK coast, and moving in parallel to the demarcation line,” he said. 

Having previously refused help, the migrants eventually gave up their efforts to reach the UK and accepted rescue. 

“We returned and asked them if they required assistance. They said no. We then followed them for another two hours. At this point [9pm], we asked again whether they needed help,” said Mr Vanderplanque.

“This time they said yes. They were exhausted, frightened, frozen, and soaking wet. Their engine was working at this point but they were unable to make headway. They had understood they weren’t going to make it. They couldn’t find a correct path and were disorientated and lost.

“At this point, we sent inflatable dinghies from our boat to bring them to ours. We have blankets, hot drinks and biscuits and a tent for them. We then took them back to the French coast. Everyone survived.”

Mr Vanderplanque said it was hypocritical for the UK and French authorities to be spending enormous sums running boats and helicopters to minimise the risks of the dangerous journey.

“Let’s be lucid about this, our role is to escort them to UK waters and ensure their safety. Why don’t we simply put them directly in chartered ferries? At least they would be kept safe. The situation here is paradoxical. There is huge hypocrisy,” he said.

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