Boat with 80 migrants including children capsizes in the Channel

A boat carrying around 80 migrants with three children on board capsized on the English Channel.

Fortunately, they were pulled from the water by coastguard and lifeboat crews five miles off the coast of Kent this morning, June 6. 

There have been no deaths so far and it is unclear whether anyone will need to be taken to hospital. 

Three of those who were in the water are understood to have been children.

A coastguard helicopter and the lifeboats from Dover and Walmer were dispatched for the rescue. 

Border Force vessels Defender and Ranger, along with support ship Taku are on the scene. 

There have been 297 migrants arriving on five separate boats over the last week. This includes 63 on June 3 on one boat and 234 on four boats on June 4.

This year alone the number of people travelling to the UK on dangerous boats hit a record for the year in May, with 711 making the crossing. Around 80,000 migrants arrived in the UK since the government struck its Rwanda deal more than two years ago.