Six Iranian migrants found trying to cross the Channel to reach the UK in a 13ft dinghy
The UK Coastguard helicopter at Lydd and the Dungeness RNLI lifeboat were called to help the French authorities find the dinghy at 9am
A GROUP of six Iranian migrants have been rescued after they tried to cross the English Channel in a dinghy.
The 13ft boat was spotted by people in a British yacht sailing in French waters.
When the vessel was seen it was 14 miles west of the coast at Boulogne in France.
The UK Coastguard helicopter at Lydd and the Dungeness RNLI lifeboat were called to help the French authorities find the dinghy at about 9am this morning.
After the boat was found by a French maritime boat, the group from Iran were handed over to the French border police officers of the Pas-de-Calais.
This comes after more than 3,300 people were rescued by the Italian coastguard and navy ships yesterday after their boats went adrift in the Mediterranean.
The 25 dinghies and a boat were were stranded in the sea after the Italian navy think Libyan smugglers exploited the good weather and calm seas to launch boats.
RELATED ARTICLES
Last week, thousands of migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya, including around 5,000 in one day.
Most of the recently rescued people are thought to have come from countries in West Africa, including Ghana, Liberia, and Guinea.
This week security officers in Coquells, northern France, deployed two military drones at the Eurotunnel in a bid to stop migrants trying to reach Britain by using the Channel Tunnel.
A surge in illegal entry attempts in to the UK has been warned of following the vote for Britain to leave the EU.
The head of Eurotunnel, Jacques Gounon, said the shock referendum result gave people a "clear signal" that the Anglo-French border will soon become a "huge wall, similar to the Berlin Wall, almost impossible to overcome".
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368.