Channel migrant boat involved in fatal crossing bid ‘wholly unsuitable’, says report

Police forensic officers at the RNLI station at the Port of Dover after a large search and rescue operation launched in the Channel off the coast of Dungeness, in Kent, following an incident involving a small boat carrying migrants on December 14 2022. Credit: PA Archive/PA Images

An investigation into the sinking of a migrant boat in the Channel which claimed at least eight lives in December 2022 found the dinghy was “wholly unsuitable and ill-equipped for the crossing attempt”.

The report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) also revealed that the occupants could only raise the alarm by mobile phone.

The Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Dover was told at 2.13am on December 14 2022 that an inflatable boat carrying migrants from France to the UK was potentially in distress.

At around 3am the vessel suffered “structural failure and many of the migrants entered the water”, the MAIB said.

Thirty-nine migrants were rescued by fishing vessels and search and rescue personnel, but at least eight migrants died.

The bodies of four victims were recovered to the UK, and the others were lost at sea.

All of the occupants of the boat were male and aged between 13 and 35.

Their nationalities were a mixture of Afghan, Sudanese, Indian, Uzbek and Albanian.

The MAIB concluded: “The inflatable boat was wholly unsuitable and ill-equipped for the crossing attempt and the occupants’ only method of raising the alarm was via mobile phone.”

Migrants arrive in Dover after Channel crossings top 17,000 for the year

The report said that at 1.53am, a volunteer for French charity Utopia 56 received a global positioning system location in the Channel and a WhatsApp voice message that said: “Hello brother, we are in a boat and we have a problem, please help.

“We have children and family in a boat and water come in the boat and we do not have anything for the children safety.

“Please help bro. Please, please, please, we are in the water. We have a family.”

The sound of someone “crying loudly” could be heard in the background, the MAIB said.

The volunteer unsuccessfully attempted to contact the sender, before alerting authorities in Dover and Calais.

Investigators believe this was a “false declaration intended to expedite rescue” but at around 3am the occupants of the dinghy heard “a pop or bang and the boat started to flood rapidly from under the floorboards”, the report stated.

Several of the migrants entered the water, while some were able to stay on the tubing.

The report said it was “fortunate” the boat failed “in very close proximity” to fishing vessel Arcturus, whose crew recovered 31 occupants.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…