People traffickers resume trade after Channel tragedy as two 15-year-old boys brought ashore by RNLI

People traffickers have resumed sending vulnerable asylum seekers and migrants across the English channel in small boats on Saturday just three days after a tragedy which led to the deaths of four people.

A group of up to 12 people, including two 15-year-old boys, were pictured arriving on English soil after being picked up by the RNLI in the English Channel on Saturday.

The group arrived at Dungeness after picked up by the Dungeness lifeboat as they made the crossing in extremely choppy waters.

It comes just two days after a large incident was declared in the channel as a sinking boat led to four deaths and 39 survivors being pulled from the freezing water by multiple rescue vessels.

Kent Police was called to Dover to assist HM Coastguard following a report received in the early hours of Wednesday about a small boat in distress.

Crossing the Channel is extremely dangerous for small boats and dinghies and many arrive overloaded with people by the greedy people traffickers.

Conditions are particularly perilous in winter when freezing temperatures can kill people within minutes if they end up tossed into the sea.

Detectives have since launched an investigation into the Channel boat tragedy after four migrants died and 39 survivors, including 12 children, had to be rescued when a dinghy sank.

Officers from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, assisted by the National Crime Agency, are involved in the operation.

A Kent Police spokesperson said: ‘The circumstances surrounding the deaths of four people in the English Channel are being investigated by detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, assisted by the National Crime Agency.’

It continued: ‘A multi-agency search and rescue operation was carried out, resulting in 39 people being safely brought to shore. Four other people have been pronounced deceased.

‘Officers are working to establish the identity of the deceased and locate the next of kin.’

British and French search teams raced to the area between Lydd in Kent and the Cap Gris Nez south of Calais in France in the early hours on Wednesday.

Some 43 asylum seekers were plucked from the freezing waters after their vessel came into trouble at around 2am.

It is understood with sea temperatures as low as just 9 degrees celsius, people in the water would have had just five minutes before their limbs began to cramp up because of the cold.

Four died, with the same number feared to have been missing. The search for any remaining survivors was called off at around 5pm on Thursday.

On Friday, National Crime Agency Director General Graeme Biggar said: ‘First and foremost this incident is a tragedy, and our thoughts have to be with the families and loved ones of those who died. 

‘Given the conditions I am also thankful that the death toll was not higher, and I pay tribute to all those who responded so quickly in the Channel on Wednesday morning. They undoubtedly saved lives.

‘A full investigation is now underway into the circumstances around these deaths, which is led by Kent Police.

‘I have offered them the full support and resources of the NCA, including our network of liaison officers in France who are already engaged with French partners.

‘This incident, tragically, highlights the dangers of these crossings, a high percentage of which are facilitated by organised criminal networks. 

‘They treat people as a commodity to be profited from and think nothing of putting them in incredibly dangerous situations.

‘Working with our partners on both sides of the Channel we are determined to find those responsible and bring them to justice.’

Kent County Council leader Roger Gough told a council meeting that a youngster was one of the fatalities, while 12 of the 39 who survived were children travelling on their own. 

The tragedy, he said, was a ‘sobering reminder of the human costs of what is an ongoing crisis’. 

Footage from the rescue operation showed fear and terror etched onto the faces of some of the young men and boys who risked their lives to make it to Britain. 

A spokesman for a French charity said it was a voice message in the early hours of the morning from migrants in a waterlogged boat begging for help that first raised the alarm, and that babies could be heard screaming in the background. 

Nikolai Posner, communications officer for Utopia 56 which helps migrants in Calais, said a 22-second WhatsApp voice note was left at around 2am UK time.

In the message, a man can be heard saying ‘help us, help us’ and that there was water inside the boat with ‘families and kids’ on board, Mr Posner said.

The 12 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) have now been taken into the care of Kent County Council. 

During the search, drones were being used to scan the water for anyone unaccounted for, with ships asked to post lookouts.

Meanwhile, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) reviewed evidence of the incident to decide whether an inquiry should be launched.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said 401 migrants were detected in eight boats on Wednesday, not including those who died. 

It now takes the number rescued in the Channel after crossing from France to 45,112 – compared to 28,526 in 2021. 

Despite appalling conditions 1,212 have made it so far in December alone in 38 boats.