This is the dramatic moment the RNLI pulled a migrant family of four – including a 14-year-old girl – to safety from a dinghy after they got into trouble trying to cross the English Channel.
Nearly 37,000 people are now known to have risked their lives making treacherous crossing so far this year after it was revealed 502 made the voyage on Tuesday.
Harrowing video shows migrants in orange life jackets being pulled to safety on the deck of a lifeboat from a flimsy dinghy in the middle of the sea.
RNLI volunteers can then be seen wrapping the casualties in blankets to keep them warm after their terrifying ordeal.
One woman seems semi-conscious as crew tried to bring her round.
The footage captured on the helmet cameras of the volunteer crew of the Dover RNLI lifeboat station is from a call out earlier this year to respond to five people attempting to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes to reach the UK.
Among the rescued group were a family of four – including a 14-year-old girl – believed to be from Afghanistan.
The charity caused a stir last year with its response to Nigel Farage’s claim that it was running a ‘taxi service for migrants’ it rescues in the English Channel.
Chief Executive Mark Dowie said he felt compelled to comment after volunteers reported being heckled for bringing migrants to safety.
An RNLI member, who has responded to similar shouts in the Channel, has now told of his experiences rescuing migrants from the sea when they launch at the request of HM Coastguard.
Dramatic footage has been released by the RNLI of an operation to rescue desperate migrants from a dinghy as they tried to cross the English Channel – including a young family of four
Harrowing video shows migrants in orange life jackets being pulled to safety on the deck of a lifeboat from a flimsy dinghy in the middle of the sea
He said: ‘We are all trained in casualty care. Recently, we have received extra training in, not only how to assist a childbirth at sea, but also what to do should we come across tens of bodies floating face down in the water.. Our greatest terror is not if, but when.
‘Dinghies are always packed the same way – women and children huddled on the thin plywood floor, men on the outside, seated on the inflated hull.
‘It used to be that dinghies only had 20 people in them. Now, we often pick up vessels with two or three times that amount.
‘The dinghy bottom is usually swilling with a mixture of seawater, petrol and vomit.
‘Floating on top of this highly inflammable, rank cocktail – among the plastic bags and spoiled belongings – you might also see a foot pump and a pile of floppy bicycle inner tubes in case the boat sinks. This is because the buoyancy aids supplied by the traffickers are sometimes stuffed with little more than cardboard.
‘Even on a mild day, somewhere on the imaginary line between the UK and France, the swell can slop about uneasily and an overloaded dinghy will flex dangerously against its glued seams. Coming across a dinghy in anything more than these conditions makes mouths go dry.
‘There is an unspoken fear among crew that a dinghy will split apart as people rush and clamber over its sides.
‘This is where the skill of the coxswain is truly remarkable for, whatever the weather, he manoeuvres our boat into such a position that we are close enough to start pulling people across. Getting them onboard is rarely pretty.’
The volunteer said that lines are passed to outstretched palms to thread through carry handles at the bow and stern of the dinghy so that people can step across quickly and safely.
However, he added, the handles quickly come away under load because the boats are cheaply made for just one purpose.
‘That’s when people start to panic. This is the most terrifying part. Some hold up their children, hoping we will save the most vulnerable first.
‘Others just make a leap for it, scrambling across the churning gap between the boats, hoping that their strength will be enough to save them. All we can do is our best.
‘As the two vessels lurch unevenly side by side, rearing up and down, it feels overwhelmingly chaotic.
‘I’ve seen parents throw their babies across; I’ve seen others trampling neighbours to the floor; 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, not looking to us but instead to the sky.
‘All we can do is pack the deck as evenly as possible, putting the youngest and fittest looking men at the bow and bringing women and families inside.
‘We hand out blankets and waterproof ponchos to those outside and chocolate to the rest.
‘Moving about on deck is almost impossible for crew, such is the crush and sprawl of bodies.
‘One of the crew shows episodes of Peppa Pig on a mobile screen to children with wide eyes, dirty cheeks and runny noses.
‘Some of them look like my daughter’s friends from school. I have discovered that all parents – wherever they come from – are grateful for Peppa Pig on a long journey.
‘Often, people are seasick, retching over the side or through fingers, making the decks slippy. Either that or they are suffering from cold or 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. Many come with stories.’
The footage captured on the helmet cameras of the volunteer crew of the Dover RNLI lifeboat station is from a call out earlier this year to respond to five people attempting to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes to reach the UK
Among the rescued group were a family of four – including a 14-year-old girl – believed to be from Afghanistan
The charity caused a stir last year with its response to Nigel Farage’s claim that it was running a ‘taxi service for migrants’ it rescues in the English Channel
An RNLI member, who has responded to similar shouts in the Channel, has now told of his experiences rescuing migrants from the sea when they launch at the request of HM Coastguard
The RNLI’s Head of Lifeboats, Simon Ling, said: ‘The crew testimony and rescue footage show the reality of what our volunteer lifeboat crews face when they launch to the aid of people crossing the Channel at the request of HM Coastguard.
‘We are incredibly proud of our crews who continue to respond selflessly to their pagers, day or night, simply to help others.
‘They have responded in a humbling way to this increase in demand with continued dedication, commitment and compassion.
‘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.
‘They understand the potential human cost so leave behind their own families and employment to go to the aid of others. We thank them for their selflessness.
‘The challenges our crews face in this demanding search and rescue environment continue to evolve and we are continually developing new ways we can support our teams to ensure they have the best and most suitable care, protection, equipment, and training available.
‘The welfare of our crews is extremely important to us.’
The RNLI has been working with crews to consider and test new equipment more suited for responding to incidents in the Channel with much of it now in use, including inflatable horseshoe life rings and rafts and translation cards to aid communication with people from a variety of different countries.
The charity has also increased operational staffing, where necessary, so that stations are able to give breaks to volunteers who are being tasked repeatedly in the space of a few days.
Last week, south east crew members participated in a mass rescue simulation to help prepare for emergency incidents involving large numbers of people in the water building on smaller-scale exercises conducted earlier this year, including one in the state-of-the-art sea survival pool at the RNLI College in Poole, Dorset.
Simon added: ‘Our crews face a difficult and ever changing environment in the Channel and, for some of our stations, the scale of their involvement is unprecedented.
‘We are accustomed to seeing spikes in activity around our coast throughout the summer months, partly as a result of new trends in water use but seeing year-round increases in launches and the potential impact these types of rescues have on our crew’s emotional wellbeing is not something the RNLI has been faced with before.
‘We recognise there is more work to be done in support of our crews and this work and everyone at the RNLI remains focused on our core purpose of saving lives at sea.’
Nigel Farage controversially claimed last year that the RNLI was running a ‘taxi service for migrants’, adding it was ‘to the dismay of all involved’.
The RNLI defended helping Border Force tackle the migrant crisis, saying it was ‘humanitarian work of the highest order’.
Chief Executive Mark Dowie said: ‘The people of these islands (the UK) fundamentally are decent people, and all decent people will see this as humanitarian work of the highest order.
‘Our crews should not have to put up with some of the abuse they received.’
However, it was then claimed the charity was having to delay other rescue work because of the number of migrants it is now picking up in the Channel.
Shortly after, some supporters stopped giving cash after it emerged the charity was spending millions of pounds abroad including buying burkinis for children in Africa and funding nursery places in Bangladesh.
Some withdrawing their support even compared it to the left-leaning National Trust, where irate members campaigned to oust its ‘worthless wokes’ leadership team after a series of controversial policies.
On Tuesday 502 people made the crossing in 12 separate incidents, according to officials.
The latest arrivals takes the number intercepted in small boats in the Channel so far this year to 36,965 in 911 boats, according to official government figures compared to 28,526 in 2021.
In October alone there has been 3,964 people detained after making the treacherous voyage in 87 boats.
Clare Moseley founder of refugee charity, Care4Calais says: ‘We are glad that this family has been rescued but this heart-breaking story shows how the government’s current approach is failing.
‘The Government has closed off all safe routes to claim asylum in the UK pushing people, including families with children, into the hands of smugglers and onto dangerous small boat crossings.
‘If we offered Safe Passage to refugees, in a similar way as we have to Ukrainians, it would remove the need for boat crossings – saving lives and putting people smugglers out of business.’