Dozens of migrants have braved the Artic snap as they crossed the Channel by small boat yesterday.
The mostly-male group of asylum seekers – clad in hooded winter jackets and purple blankets – have been introduced into Dover, Kent on Border Force catamaran Hurricane shortly after 10am.
The authorities is but to verify the official figures for the group – who’re the primary to succeed in the UK this month.
The coastal city was frosty yesterday morning, with freezing fog which was gradual to clear.
The Met Office additionally issued a yellow alert for snow and ice in elements of the South East, together with Dover. The most temperature within the coastal city at present was solely 5C.
This comes after 224 migrants have been escorted into the port by Border Force officers after making the perilous journey throughout the 21-mile Dover Strait in 4 boats on Thursday.
The first small boat, carrying round 50 folks, was intercepted earlier than dawn. Its occupants have been escorted into the port at midnight round 7am, on board Border Force catamaran Ranger.
The mostly-male group of asylum seekers – clad in hooded winter jackets and purple blankets – have been introduced into Dover, Kent on Border Force catamaran Hurricane shortly after 10am
The coastal city was frosty this morning, with freezing fog which was gradual to clear
A second similar-sized group was intercepted and introduced into the harbour on Border Force catamaran Hurricane round 9.30am.
The identical day, the French coastguard centre CROSS in Cap Gris-Nez was knowledgeable of two migrant boats in problem off the coast of Calais.
In the early hours of the morning, Apollo Moon, a rescue ship chartered by the State, was tasked with rescuing an inflatable dinghy with engine failure.
The crew recovered 66 folks on board and dropped them off on the port of Calais, the place they have been taken care of by the land rescue companies and the Border Police.
At the identical time, the French Navy boat Rhône, and the Maritime Police vessel Aber Ildut, have been tasked with attending to an additional 62 folks in a dinghy in problem off the coast of Wimereux.
The migrants have been recovered on board Rhône and dropped off on the port of Boulogne sur Mer, within the early hours of Thursday morning, the place they have been taken care of by civil safety and Border Police.
A complete of 28,360 asylum seekers have crossed the Channel by small boat up to now this 12 months, in response to official authorities figures.
The authorities is but to verify the official figures for the group – who’re the primary to succeed in the UK this month
November alone noticed 1,661 migrants arrive within the UK in 33 boats – a mean of fifty folks crammed into every vessel.
Last 12 months, a document 45,755 asylum seekers reached Britain – 60 per cent increased than the earlier 12 months when 28,526 folks made the treacherous journey.
Border Force catamaran Defender is at present patrolling the Channel, suggesting extra migrants might arrive on the Kent coast later at present.
The climate is anticipated to show a lot colder within the seaside city tonight, with widespread frost and wintry showers in japanese coastal areas.
Freezing fog patches are anticipated to develop inland, with a minimal temperature of -4C.