Channel migrants: Dover RNLI releases dramatic rescue footage

Harrowing footage of a mid-Channel migrant rescue has been released by the RNLI in an attempt to highlight the reality facing its lifeboat crews.

In disturbing scenes, the crew can be seen pulling people to safety and pleading with them to "stay awake".

Among the casualties were a family of four - including a 14-year-old girl - believed to be from Afghanistan.

Some were crying and shivering noisily, while others were quiet and receiving life-saving treatment.

The RNLI regularly assists when small boats are detected in UK waters, or when migrants call for help.

The charity said all five people depicted in its footage "were able to disembark the lifeboat into the care of the authorities upon arrival in the UK".

A spokesman for the RNLI confirmed no people rescued from the dinghy had come to serious harm.

So far this year more than 37,000 people have made the perilous journey across the English Channel, compared to just over 28,000 for the whole of 2021.

One RNLI crew member has provided a first-hand account of what volunteers face when they launch at the request of the Coastguard.

He said dinghies were always packed the same way, with women and children huddled on the thin plywood floor and men sitting around the outside on the inflated hull.

"The dinghy bottom is usually swilling with a mixture of seawater, petrol and vomit," he said.

He described "panic" when people are pulled on to the lifeboats.

"This is the most terrifying part," he said, "some hold up their children, hoping we will save the most vulnerable first. Others just make a leap for it.

"I've seen men fighting as they struggle to hold one another back. I've seen terror as old women hold up clasped hands in prayer."

He said people were often seasick, or suffering from cold, exhaustion or dehydration.

"Others come with injuries picked up on the way. Some are missing limbs. Some are blind or deaf. Others are old and infirm. Some are pregnant," he added.

RNLI head of lifeboats Simon Ling said: "The crew testimony and rescue footage show the reality of what our volunteer lifeboat crews face.

"Each time our crews are requested to launch by HM Coastguard they do so knowing that someone's father, mother, son or daughter could end up in the water and need help."

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