Coastguard Airs Risks to Rescue Migrants in Fog Off Dungeness
A daring Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Lydd risked everything today to find five migrants who jumped from a crowded dinghy, just eight miles off Dungeness in thick Channel fog. The incident happened Sunday morning, December 19, 2021.
Helicopter and Lifeboat Scramble in Thick Fog
Despite near-zero visibility, the helicopter crew teamed up with the RNLI Dungeness lifeboat after an emergency call warned that five men had plunged into the cold sea from a black, 10-metre boat carrying 50 migrants.
Frostbite and Foolishness: Migrants Rescued and Warned
Police and Border Force were on scene to meet a second boat of migrants later that morning. Some of the rescued men needed treatment for hypothermia. All were pulled from freezing waters and given warm drinks and blankets onshore.
“They were not only foolish but very stupid to get on a boat and be told it’s 20 miles that way in thick fog,” officers said.
