Channel tragedy: Man begged ‘we’re in the water’ as kids sobbed in distressing call before migrant boat sank killing 4
A DESPERATE man among a group of migrants rescued from the Channel today begged "we're in the water" as children sobbed around him before the dinghy they were in sank.
Four people have tragically died after a small boat capsized five miles off the Kent coast in the icy Channel waters this morning.
A chilling Whatsapp voice message was sent from the small boat to French charity Utopia 56 shortly before 2am, in which a man on board pleaded for help.
The man in the recording said: "We are in the water and we have a family."
The sound of children crying can reportedly be heard in the background.
Meanwhile, Raymond, a fishing captain whose crew saved 31 migrants, stranded in the Channel has revealed he woke to the sound of them "screaming for help".
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He told : "It was like something out of a Second World War movie, there were people in the water everywhere, screaming.
"The dinghy started to drift away, so I steamed towards the dinghy and we secured it with a rope to the side of the boat.
"We were trying to pull them off the dinghy."
Ben Squire, who owns the ship Raymond was on, said that the crew saw some of the migrants die in the water.
He said: "It was a rigid inflatable boat that sank because it was overloaded.
"There were 45 people from Senegal and Afghanistan in it.
"The crew of the Arcturus rescued 31, the Royal Navy rescued some more but some of them died in the water.
"The cold was too much for some of them - they couldn't hang on and died in front of the crew."
In total, 43 people were rescued from the water after a desperate distress call came in just after half past three this morning.
But authorities confirmed this morning that four people had died in the terrible tragedy.
Pictures from Dover showed the migrants, including young children wrapped up against the elements with life jackets still on, being taken ashore.
Many were carried onto land by port officials, while sirens rang out as ambulances rushed to nearby hospitals.
Shocking footage showed the survivors standing in the collapsed dinghy, knee-deep in water.
Some can be seen wearing red life jackets, but others did not have one.
It appears that the flimsy inflatable sustained a puncture, causing it to sink.
Channel Rescue, an organisation that monitors Channel crossings, believes that there were about 50 people on board the small boat.
A Government spokesperson said: "At 0305 today, authorities were alerted to an incident in the Channel concerning a migrant small boat in distress.
"After a coordinated 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."
Royal Navy, RNLI and Coast Guard vessels faced a race against time to save the migrants as temperatures plunged to -3C last night.
Forensic tents have been put up at the RNLI station in the Port of Dover.
Addressing the tragedy at Prime Minister's Questions today, Rishi Sunak said: "Mr Speaker, I'm sure the whole house will share my sorrow with the capsizing of a small boats in the channel in the early hours of this morning, and the tragic loss of human life.
"Our hearts go out to all those affected and our tributes to those involved in the extensive rescue operation."
In a Commons statement this afternoon, the Home Secretary said: "It is vital, literally vital, that we end the illegal crossings in the Channel."
She added that this morning's events were "the most sobering reminder possible of why we have to end these crossings."
Sea temperatures in the Channel fell to 12C today, compared with an all time low of 10C.
A former UK Border Force chief told The Sun that due to the perilous wintry conditions over the Channel, there could be even more fatalities.
Kevin Saunders said: "I think there will be more deaths. We dispatched a helicopter to search, but if it was dark then there is not much hope."
A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: "HM Coastguard is currently coordinating a search and rescue response to an incident involving a small boat off Kent, working with the Navy, Border Force, Kent Police and other partners.
'DISTRESSING INCIDENT'
"We have sent Dover, Dungeness, Hastings and Ramsgate RNLI lifeboats and Deal, Dungeness and Folkestone coastguard rescue teams, along with the coastguard area commander.
"HM Coastguard helicopters from Lydd and Lee on Solent and one from the French Navy are involved. A fishing vessel in the area is also assisting in the rescue. South East Coast Ambulance and Kent Police are working with us and an air ambulance has been sent.
"The incident is ongoing and we have no further information."
They added: "HM Coastguard will continue to safeguard life around the seas and coastal areas of the UK, working with search and rescue resources in the area. If a vessel needs search and rescue assistance, HM Coastguard will continue to respond to all those in need."
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Suella Braverman tweeted: "I am aware of a distressing incident in the Channel this morning and I am being kept constantly updated while agencies respond and urgently establish the full facts.
"My heartfelt thoughts are with all those involved."
Dover MP Natalie Elphicke also offered her sympathies, saying: "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."
A South East Coast Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "South East Coast Ambulance Service was called by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency following reports of an incident in the channel at about 3.40am on Wednesday, 14 December.
"We have sent resources to Dover in support of the rescue efforts being undertaken by the Coastguard. As this is an ongoing incident, we have no further updates at this time."
The tragic incident will prompt fears of deaths and provokes echoes of a similar case last November, when a small boat carrying 34 migrants sank in the Channel, killing 31 people.
It comes after PM Rishi Sunak yesterday set out a plan for controlling Britain's borders.
The number of people arriving by dinghy since June has skyrocketed to 30,000.
Mr Sunak's plan includes ending the use of tax-payer funded hotels to house migrants, tightening the definition of modern slavery and forming a small boats operational command to hunt down evil people smugglers.
Addressing MPs in the Commons, the PM blasted: "It is unfair that people come here illegally.
"It is not cruel or unkind to want to break the stranglehold of criminal gangs who trade in human misery, and who exploit our system, and laws.
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"Enough is enough."
The PM also pledged to clear the ballooning asylum backlog by the end of 2023.