During the mission, which included the Royal Navy, French navy, Coastguard, and RNLI lifeboats, four people died and 43 others were rescued. Oceanic Drifter Fishing, based in Plymouth, is owned by Ben Squire. The team on board one of his scallop boats was the first to arrive on the scene. “The skipper called to tell me he was in a serious incident,” he explained. They were fishing in the middle of the Channel, halfway between England and France, and a rigid inflatable boat with migrants on board was crossing and sinking very, very close to where he was fishing.” “It appears that the bottom of the rigid inflatable boat with the migrants on it had fallen away,” he continued, “so you had all these people in the water, in cold conditions, still holding onto the boat, obviously cold in the water.” “We’re talking about human beings and people’s lives, and lives have been lost today, but I’m really glad that we managed to save 31,” he said. Today’s heroes are the skipper and crew of our boat. “They got them aboard, there were 31 of them which is a lot of people, obviously soaking wet, freezing cold, panicking, really scared. They got them in the hot shower, warmed them up, the crews put their own clothes on them, fed them, and the Arcturus then went into Dover alongside and got them off safely.” According to a government spokesman, the incident is still being investigated. “This is a truly tragic incident,” he added. Our hearts go out to the friends and families of all those who have died today.” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has expressed his “sorrow” at the “capsizing of a small boat” in the Channel, telling MPs there had been a “tragic loss of human life. I’m sure the whole house will share my sorrow at the capsizing of a small boat in the Channel in the early hours of this morning, and the tragic loss of human life,” Mr Sunak said in the Commons. “Our hearts go out to all those affected, and we pay tribute to everyone involved in the massive rescue effort.”