14 suspected migrants rescued from dinghies off Kent coast
Two dinghies are spotted off the British coast each carrying seven people suspected of trying to enter the country illegally.
Thursday 22 November 2018 19:54, UK
Fourteen suspected migrants have been rescued from two dinghies off the Kent coast, according to officials.
The first dinghy was seen at 3.30am on Thursday and the second appeared about five hours later.
Each one carried seven people, with the two boats containing a total of 13 men and one woman.
The dinghies were brought into Dover by Border Force coastal patrol vessels, the Home Office confirmed.
All 14 on board presented themselves as Iranian and have been transferred for interviews with immigration officials, the spokesman added.
They were suspected of trying to enter the country illegally.
The second group was rescued from the English Channel after shocked passengers spotted them drifting past ferries.
The suspected migrants appeared to be wearing lifejackets and were seen frantically waving, shouting and blowing whistles as the choppy sea battered the boat.
A man travelling to Dover on a Danish ferry filmed the rescue and said the group got in trouble after mistakenly getting stuck in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
He said it was "incredibly dangerous" and praised the rescuers for their heroics.
He said: "The coastguard arrived within 10 minutes as they were clearly in trouble and in the shipping lane.
"They were shouting for help. It was heartbreaking to watch."
Earlier, French officials said 11 people were pulled from boats in the Channel as they tried to reach Britain.
The group's boat was seen in distress near the French town of Wimereux and four of them were taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia. The others were handed over to French border police in Calais.
The group spotted off the Kent coast did not require medical treatment.
There have been a number of migrant-carrying boats try to reach the UK in recent weeks.
Last Sunday, nine migrants - believed to be Iranian - were picked up at Folkestone and the previous Friday, seven others - also believed to be Iranians - were picked up near Dover.
Two days earlier, three more boats were intercepted off Kent with a total of 24 people, including a toddler.
The day before that, 14 men and three children - all Iranian - were stopped at Dover trying to reach the UK on a fishing boat.