More than 150 migrants rescued after boat catches fire in Channel

More than 150 migrants have been rescued after the boat they were using to cross the Channel caught fire on Tuesday morning, French authorities have said.

The boat was attempting to cross to the UK when its engine caught fire, according to the French maritime prefecture of the Channel and North Sea.

It said 157 people have been rescued and are being taken to port in Boulogne-sur-Mer. There are no reports of anyone having been injured or killed.

It comes just a day after Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged his government will be “relentless” in curbing the number of people arriving in the UK on small boats.

French authorities said the boat left France on Monday night.

Overnight “five people on board the vessel required rescue… the remaining people on board refused the assistance offered by the French patrol boats”, the French maritime prefecture said.

“Determined to reach the United Kingdom, migrants crossing the Channel in small boats refused assistance offered by French emergency service, accepting it only in situations of extreme emergency,” it said in a statement.

Because of the “structural fragility” of boats used to cross the Channel, it said they decided not to intervene further at that stage.

But this morning the engine caught fire and the “vessel’s integrity deteriorated very rapidly”.

Rescue boats went to the scene from France and the UK, including the RNLI Eastbourne lifeboat and the UK Border Force vessels BSC Contender and BSC Courageous.

Two French boats rescued 103 migrants and the British boats rescued 54.

All of them are being taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer for treatment, where they are expected to arrive there at 12:30 local time (11:30 BST) on Tuesday.

Earlier, the UK Coastguard said: “A vessel caught fire earlier this morning whilst in the French search and rescue region. UK vessels and a lifeboat are assisting.”

Political discussions around the UK’s policies on illegal migration have resurfaced since tens of thousands of migrants swam into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta on Thursday.

During a visit to Dover on Monday, Andy Burnham said progress had been made in curbing the number of people arriving in the UK on small boats.

The prime minister said “people want to see this issue addressed”.

He added that enforcement officers tackling people-smuggling gangs have been doubled on both sides of the Channel, but “a system that offers safe routes for people” needs to be built as well.

The Conservatives said that Labour had not delivered on its promises on migration, while Reform UK said if in government it would deploy the navy to ward off crossings.