At least four people have died after a small migrant boat with up to 50 on board capsized in the English Channel off the coast of Kent, near Dungeness.
A major search and rescue operation involving helicopters and lifeboats was launched at around 3am and is ongoing, with 43 people rescued alive – some from the water, others from the vessel.
The boat was carrying between 30 to 50 people when it ran into difficulties, according to a French source.
Exclusive footage obtained by Sky News shows the moment of the rescue – with scores of people crammed into the small rubber boat screaming for help, as they are pulled to safety by a crew on board a nearby fishing vessel.
Several of the migrants are helped on board, while others leap on to the side of the boat and scramble up, clinging on to a large fishing net.
Further video shows the black inflatable dinghy being retrieved from the water by rescue teams.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his ‘sorrow’ at the incident, telling MPs there had been a “tragic loss of human life”.
Searches will continue all day, but at this stage many more are feared dead given the freezing conditions of the water, a separate source has told Sky News.
“There were people in the water,” said Sky’s Lisa Holland, adding sources have told her they believe the temperature would have been around -4C.
While temperatures had dropped last night, Holland said the weather conditions were calm – making it a “window of opportunity” for the migrants to make the crossing.
Helicopters have been landing at a hospital in Ashford, Kent, she added. It is unclear whether they have been transporting people rescued from the water.
Temperatures have plunged below zero every night this week.
British Red Cross director of refugee support Alex Fraser said anyone making the journey in these circumstances “shows just how desperate people are”.
“Nobody puts their life at risk like this unless they feel they have no other option, and until we have more accessible safe routes for people to claim asylum, there is a danger we may see more such incidents,” he said.
“Our thoughts are with those on the boat, their families and those involved in the ongoing rescue mission.”
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said HM Coastguard is working with the RNLI, Royal Navy, Border Force, French navy and Kent Police to look for the boat, while an air ambulance has also been sent to the scene.
Coastguard rescue teams from Deal, Dungeness and Folkestone are involved in the operation, along with helicopters from Lydd and Lee on Solent, and another from the French navy is also taking part.
Two French vessels and a fishing boat in the area are also helping with the rescue.
A UK government spokesperson said: “At 0305 today, authorities were alerted to an incident in the Channel concerning a migrant small boat in distress. After a co-ordinated search and rescue operation led by HM Coastguard, it is with regret that there have been four confirmed deaths as a result of this incident, investigations are ongoing and we will provide further information in due course.
“This is a truly tragic incident. Our thoughts are with the friends and families of all those who have lost their lives today.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who will update MPs in the Commons on the situation at 12.30pm, tweeted she is “aware of a distressing incident”.
She said she is “being kept constantly updated” while agencies respond and “urgently establish the full facts”.
“My heartfelt thoughts are with all those involved,” she added.
Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said: “I am very saddened to hear that lives are feared to have been lost following a small boat tragedy in the English Channel this morning. My thoughts and prayers are with all those involved.”
The incident comes just hours after Mr Sunak promised to bring in new laws to tackle illegal immigration.
Among a raft of new measures unveiled to curb Channel crossings, the prime minister told MPs on Tuesday: “We have to stop the boats. And this government will do what must be done.”
People now attempt the journeys all year round in overcrowded vessels, in perilous conditions, unsuitably dressed and often without life jackets – having paid smugglers up to £6,000 each to help them make the crossing.
As of midnight last night, 44,711 people have made the dangerous crossing on board small boats so far this year, according to data analysed by Sky News. This includes 1,087 boats, with an average of 41 people per vessel.
At least 27 migrants died near Calais when a dinghy sank while heading to the UK from France in November last year.