Eastbourne’s all-weather lifeboat has joined a major international rescue operation after a boat carrying more than 150 migrants caught fire in the English Channel.
Eastbourne’s all-weather lifeboat has joined a major international rescue operation after a boat carrying more than 150 migrants caught fire in the English Channel.
The RNLI lifeboat launched at around 6am on Tuesday, August 4, after the vessel’s engine caught fire while it was still inside the French search-and-rescue zone, close to the boundary with British waters.
French maritime authorities said the condition of the boat deteriorated rapidly following the fire and it began breaking apart.
French rescue vessels, a French Navy helicopter, medical teams, British Border Force boats and the Eastbourne lifeboat were involved in the response.
All 157 people remaining aboard the vessel were brought to safety. French boats rescued 103 people, while 54 were picked up by British vessels.
No fatalities have been reported.
Those rescued are being returned to Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France, where they will be met by emergency and medical services.
Five other people had been taken off the same vessel by French crews several hours earlier.
The boat had set out from the Veules-les-Roses area of Normandy on Monday and was being monitored by French authorities during its attempted crossing.
French officials said assistance had initially been offered, but most of those aboard declined to leave the vessel before the engine fire created an immediate emergency.
A UK Government spokesperson said the incident demonstrated the severe dangers faced by people attempting to cross the Channel in small boats.
The RNLI says its crews launch when requested by HM Coastguard and respond to anyone whose life is at risk at sea, regardless of their circumstances.
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