A dinghy believed to have carried a number of Iraqi national people, including a baby, across the Channel was discovered at Joss Bay this morning (November 11).
The vessel and wet infant clothing and soiled nappies on the shoreline were found by Ramsgate resident Suzanne Martin while she was walking her dog.
The 53-year-old said: “There were wet infant clothes and soiled nappies on the shoreline, and the nappies appeared to be for a tiny child, possibly under the age of six months.
“Along with a second infant life-jacket, there were clothes and documents in French which appeared to belong to an Iraqi national. Inside the rib/dinghy, there was a discarded baby bottle, baby food and wipes as well as a second small infant life-jacket.
“The hull of the boat had been “holed” and partially deflated; there was no sign of an outboard motor, although it is possible one had been removed and dragged along the beach, track marks were leading across the bay away from the boat.
“When I arrived, I could see one the jackets floating, and it looked as if there was something black floating next to it, it was a small child’s life-jacket. A total of ten life-jackets were found, an object could also be seen floating around 100 metres offshore, this appeared to be an additional life jacket possibly connected to the boat.
“Search and Rescue at the scene said “it was the first time they had seen a boat come up” at the location, Joss Bay, and that it was “highly unusual”.
“As I approached the boat, I couldn’t make out what was floating next to the life jacket. All I could think of was the Kurdish-Iranian family who had perished in October 2020. “Rasoul Iran-Nejad, 35, Shiva Mohammad Panahi, 35, Anita, nine, and Armin, six, were found and identified their baby wasn’t.
“I also thought about the countless others who had perished making similar crossings over the summer. I could see baby clothes and nappies and I feared the worse.”
Suzanne, a journalist and writer, said police at the scene believed a group of people had been found at Broadstairs Railway Station and a second group had presented at Margate Police Station with small child.
The Maritime Coastguard Agency confirmed Margate Coastguard Rescue Team and Ramsgate RNLI ILB were tasked to assist at an incident at Joss Beach along with Kent Police and Border Force.
A Kent Police spokesperson said: “Kent Police assisted Border Force and other partner agencies after suspected migrants were reported in Margate at around 5.30am and in Broadstairs at around 6.30am.”
A number of people were located.
Dan O’Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander said: “The criminals facilitating these crossings are breaking the law as well as risking lives and we are relentless in our pursuit of these dangerous offenders. We will do whatever we can to make this route unviable.
“We work closely with the French to stop the crossings at the source, enhancing beach patrols and surveillance, and we are a disrupting the criminal gangs responsible – in the last two weeks five people smugglers have been jailed.
“We are returning migrants who have no right to stay in the UK to safe countries with flights every week.”
UK authorities dealt with four incidents today involving 76 people. French authorities have prevented approximately 44 people from making this crossing today.
They were probably looking for the toilets!
Welcome to Kent, the land of freebies. Why didn’t you alert the Border Force taxi service, they would have given you a lift?
I hope they are all safe. You’ve got to be desperate to cross the Channel in a boat like that, even without babies.
Your right Marva, its so sad, my mum and I were refugees during the war, and sent to Stoke on Trent where we shared a 3 bed terrace house with 3 other mums, and countless kids. How they fed, and looked after us at that time, makes me proud of mums who had to uproot and go through Hell during those days. Yes, do something about the evil people smugglers, there is no alternative.
Why don’t you get a real life and see what these people have lived through and stop blaming them and blame yourself for ignorance
I assume they are just one household, or has nobody told them, about the rule of only six per dinghy?
Iraq is not at war. I went there on holiday a few years back.
More
More illegal immigrants coming in using an unseaworthy dinghy with babies onboard putting themselves and others at peril. These are not asylum seekers and should be returned immediately to Calais.
No, bud da Anglish people give us da house free, and den day give us free money, we luv da Anglish people.
Yes and get Mercedes cars . I’ve always wanted one could never afford one. Will get house furniture for free. All this whilst children in this country are staving
Why don’t you get a real life and see what these people have lived through and stop blaming them and blame yourself for ignorance
Is that the same Iraq you’ve been raising money for Barry to support all those fleeing rape, murder and torture any the hands of IS.
And so the sorry saga continues, more and more economic migrants. They will now enter them system’ and we will continue to build more and more houses to accommodate the extra population this creates. In the meantime, hotels, food, money and the NHS will be provided, FOC.
Clandestine Channel Threat Commander imports more .The Migration Watch UK analysis found that some 9,400 foreign national offenders (FNOs) are living free in communities across the United Kingdom, up from under 4,000 in 2012.
But despite the increasing numbers of foreign criminals, the number of deportations has fallen, with 1,000 fewer returns since 2016.
We’re all descended from migrants. Good luck to all these people – the most perilous part is now over for them. I’d hate to be in their shoes making a new life in the uk with so many small-minded people denying their humanity. There’s plenty to go round if we’re not greedy and migration makes our country richer in so many ways. There’s no such thing as an illegal human being.
That’s fine if it’s a two-way thing. Perhaps you and your family can move to Iraq?
Why should she want to?
Why don’t you get a real life and see what these people have lived through and stop blaming them and blame yourself for ignorance
My family comes from French Huguenots. Some came to England others went straight to Ireland. Doctors, clergy, set up the of Ireland, another founded first women’s refuge in Dublin. Fed people during two famines etc etc. Thank goodness they were embraced and allowed to give back to their adopted countries.
Interestingly Nigel Farage comes from Hugenot stock too.
…set up ….Bank of Ireland . D’olier street called after them.
Not one comment hoping the poor baby on board is okay. Disgusting and heartless. 🙁 don’t think families with babies would get on a dinghy and risk their lives if they had a safe place to be somehow .
It’s disgusting and heartless for the parents to risk young kids lives by crossing the sea in a dinghy! Wouldn’t it make more sense to settle in another safe European country instead? I know what I’d do if that was my family.
The vast majority of these migrants do settle in other European countries. Why is there so much more hostility to these migrants than to the foriegn criminals buying up property in London, for example? Not to mention the assumption that they are all “economic migrants”. Would that term cover people fleeing starvation? According to the government’s own figures, more illegal immigrants arrive through airports. Farage and others talking about invasions should read a bit about British History or just watch a few more war movies.
You’ve made the assumption that these people have similar values/morals/ viewpoints etc to yourself. Over the years i worked in around 50 countries the majority of which were pretty undesirable , in all of the latter and many of the better ones there was a deep desire by many of the locals to move to the land of free milk and honey , wnhere the streets are paved with gold and you can buy a car for next to nothing.
Many of these illegal immigrants will be seeking to join family members already here and who’ve most likely have sent the money for the journeys home.
Remember we Brits leave the Uk ro live in Spain, Italy, Germany, Australia, USA, Canada and more….What is the difference is it the colour of their skin…the country they come from
..THINK ABOUT IT 😊
I HAVE, try moving to any of those countries from the uk with the expectation of having everything provided for you. You could have worked in spain for several years but try and access their benefits system and you’ll find all sorts of previously unknown hinderances to your claim. Skin colour has nothing to do with it other than you using it to try and disparage those that show disdain towards those that arrive here intent on abusing the countries hospitality.
Last few days the weather in the English channel has been suitable for dinghy crossing,rumor 200+ per day for the last 3 days have been picked up at sea by border force.
Others have reached the Uk shore without border force assistance ,some have self reported to the authorities some escaped in our community.
Seems to be a reporting and filming ban in operation at dover port,https://twitter.com/PatriotActive66
Are you Nigel Farage by any chance?
The same bunch of middle-aged men making their predictably hateful comments. They turn up to spew bile on anyone less fortunate than themselves. No empathy, no compassion. Grade A sociopaths.
Send them straight back, why should we be forced to take them?
Our government can’t even provide for people in our own country.
The difference between the women’s comments and the men’s is indeed striking. (I’m assuming that Kent Resident and Cunning Stunt are both male, for some reason.)
And I’m assuming James is male.
So am I.
Strange, I always assumed you were a woman Marva!
My 11.31 comment means, as I’m sure Peter Checkfield knows, “I too am assuming that James is a man”.
Some of the comments on this thread are shockingly unsympathetic to the situation which migrants find themselves in.
I think people should use their own names.
Yes, that’s a good idea.
Can I use your name?
Maybe they could just call me Marv…
Why don’t you use your real name, “Cunning Stunt”?
How awful that people are so desperate they get into a tiny boat with small children and risk a hazardous journey. I hope they’re ok. Britain has caused and taken part in wars around the world and exported our language everywhere. We have a huge moral debt to huge numbers of people. Let’s be understanding at least and welcoming if we can!
So desperate to get to the UK instead of France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal and other perfectly civilised countries? While I DO feel sorry for the kids, the parents (particularly the fathers) are sub-human scum for putting them at so much totally unnecessary risk. As for “exporting our (largely Germanic-based) language”, surely that’s a good thing?
I don’t think the migrant children’s fathers or indeed any other human beings are “sub-human scum”. whatever they do. The people who commit atrocities are still human and calling them sub-human does nothing for anybody except that it makes the person who uses the phrase feel good for a moment.
The atrocities carried out by humans happen because only humans, on this planet anyway, are capable of imagining and performing them.
I agree with you Christine. By the way, did you know that in the 19th century Welsh children were punished for speaking Welsh to each other in school?
And so were Irish children. Wore tally sticks around their necks and beaten for not speaking English.
Take a look at the document in the video thumbnail, it clearly says in French (which I speak and have lived there), that the Calais Prefecture gave them from 23rd October 30 days to leave France as they were denied a Carte/Titre de Sejour (Residence Permit), you can find more info about “decision portant obligation sans delai de depart volontaire” here, although you’ll need to use Google Translate.
https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F18362
“you have to understand,
that no one puts their children in a boat
unless the water is safer than the land”
I would have thought the Channel was not safer than France, especially for people who can’t swim.