At least three people have died after a migrant boat capsized in the freezing Channel this morning - the day after Rishi Sunak unveiled a crackdown on the issue.
Extraordinary pictures show the moment that rescuers reached the stricken craft, after the UK coastguard received a distress call shortly 3am.
Although 43 people were recovered and are receiving treatment, three have been confirmed dead - with fears the grim toll could rise.
The attempted crossing from France - in darkness and freezing conditions - came just hours after the PM announced a crucial plan to deter migrants from using the route.
Mr Sunak declared that more resource would be put into deterring small boats, smashing people-smuggling gangs and reforming the 'obsolete' asylum system.
Those coming from Albania are set to be sent straight back on the basis that it is a 'safe' country, while there will be a tougher approach to illegal immigration and a huge effort to clear the massive backlog in asylum applications.
Although the proposals sparked a backlash, Tories today insisted that the latest 'tragic and awful' events demonstrated 'exactly why we need to stop this exploitation'. They dismissed claims that there are not enough official routes for seeking refuge in the UK, pointing to the large numbers coming from Afghanistan and Ukraine.
Experts warned that migrants needed to understand 'we cannot guarantee your safety' when they embark on the desperate trip across the Channel.
Mr Sunak is set to be grilled on the situation at the regular PMQs session in the House of Commons at lunchtime, before Home Secretary Suella Braverman makes a statement.
It is believed to be the first major rescue operation launched in the Channel since November last year, when at least 27 migrants perished after their dinghy submerged.
The first images from the scene, obtained exclusively by Sky News, show a number of migrants being rescued from an inflatable boat
Footage apparently of the rescue shows the dinghy seemingly barely afloat in the freezing waters
Forensic tents erected at the RNLI station at the Port of Dover following a large search and rescue operation launched in the Channel off the coast of Dungeness
RNLI Shore Crew await as RNLI Morrell returns from helping rescue migrants crossing the English Channel
Shocking images have been screened showing survivors of the incident standing in the collapsed dinghy knee deep in water - sandwiched between the sides of the inflatable.
Some of the group are seen wearing red life jackets but one man could be seen in short-sleeved shirt in freezing conditions in the images screened on Sky News.
It appears the flimsy inflatable suffered a puncture forcing the boat to lower into the water with the sides going up vertically as the terrified people on board had no alternative but to stand.
The Marine Traffic radar website this morning showed a cluster of vessels in the channel between Lydd in Kent and the Cap Gris Nez in France.
The UK coastguard was called to a boat in distress just before 3am this morning in the Channel
Huge rescue operation is launched after migrant boat carrying more than 30 people capsized in freezing cold English Channel. The circle is one of the RNLI rescue boats
Boris backs push to ignore ECHR and send asylum seekers to Rwanda
Boris Johnson is backing a Tory push to ignore rulings from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and resume sending asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Legislation being introduced in the House of Commons later is designed to heap pressure on Rishi Sunak to press ahead with the controversial policy.
The PM vowed yesterday to restart flights, part of a deal done with the Rwandan government to host Channel arrivals as applications are being processed.
But Tory MP Jonathan Gullis - who is putting forward the Asylum Seekers (Removal to Safe Countries) Bill - said it 'will ensure that Parliament, not unaccountable foreign judges in Europe, have the final say'.
Along with Mr Johnson, former home secretary Priti Patel is said to be backing the legislation.
Other 'co-sponsors' include Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nadine Dorries and Tim Loughton.
The proposals are being introduced as a 10-minute rule Bill - a route that rarely results in an addition to the statute book.
However, it is likely to force a vote and turn up the heat on Mr Sunak over his approach to the ECHR - which is separate to the EU.
The inflatable boat is believed to have capsized some five miles off Dungeness, forcing more than 40 people into the icy sea, where survival times would be extremely low.
A spokesman for the Channel Maritime Prefecture in France said that the French Navy and a 'a fishing vessel in the area is also assisting in the rescue.'
He said that the boat set off from coast of northern France in the early hours of Wednesday.
Weather conditions were said to be 'extremely cold,' despite calm sea conditions.
Refugee charities seized on the episode to slam the Government for 'hostile policies' that are 'designed to keep people out, and not keep people safe'.
But Dover MP Natalie Ephicke said it underlined the 'great urgency' of stopping the small boats from crossing.
The backbencher said the government must act to 'bring this to an end before we have further loss of life'.
Fellow Conservative Ben Bradley tweeted: 'This is tragic and awful, and is exactly why we need to stop this exploitation; stop these gangs who are putting peoples lives at risk; put an end to these deaths in the channel. This practice of crossing in dinghies must stop!'
Former minister Brendan Clarke-Smith told Sky News: 'We've got to stop this happening. The comprehensive set of measures announced yesterday is going to be part of doing that.'
Former Border Force director general Tony Smith said migrants needed to understand the UK cannot 'guarantee their safety' if they attempt to cross.
'I think we can only count our blessings that we haven't seen more incidents like this,' he told Sky.
'But we really do need to hammer home the message through media not to do this, not to pay smugglers to get into a boat.
'It's very tempting when you can see the cliffs of Dover from the beaches of Calais, sometimes it looks very simple, but these are dangerous waterways...
'We've really got to discourage people from trying this and not falling into the hands of human smugglers who really don't care about human life.
'I've dealt with them in my career. They're not interested in that they're only interested in the money.'
Mr Smith said that would-be migrants 'don't want to be detected' on the French coast because they will be stopped, and often choose to embark at night.
'This will have been dark, it will have been cold, the people will have been frightened but they would have been assured by the pilot or by somebody behind this, 'This is easy. Don't worry about this. It's not very far. Just get in here, and everything's going to be okay.'
'And that's what happens. So that's why the messaging is so important… please do not, do not engage with human smugglers to get across the English Channel.
'We have to stop this, we have to stop the boats because I'm afraid this is highly, highly dangerous.
'When a vessel runs into trouble on the English Channel, we cannot guarantee your safety - we can only do everything in our power to try and save lives.
'But we cannot guarantee that because these are really, really difficult conditions and these are dangerous waters and I'm afraid that message is not played up enough in this whole debate.'
Ambulance and emergency crews seen in Dover awaiting arrival of any more rescued migrants
Three migrants who arrived in Kent on December 9 after they were rescued by the RNLI
Border Force rescue response is now 'well-honed' machine
Former Border Force director general Tony Smith told Sky News that the operational response to incidents in the Channel was now well-honed and 'an awful lot of lives' have been saved.
'I think we can only count our blessings that we haven't seen more incidents like this,' he said.
'But we really do need to hammer home the message through media not to do this, not to pay smugglers to get into a boat.
'It's very tempting when you can see the cliffs of Dover from the beaches of Calais, sometimes it looks very simple, but these are dangerous waterways...
'We've really got to discourage people from trying this and not falling into the hands of human smugglers who really don't care about human life.
'I've dealt with them in my career. They're not interested in that they're only interested in the money.'
Mr Smith said that would-be migrants 'don't want to be detected' on the French coast because they will be stopped, and often choose to embark at night.
'This will have been dark, it will have been cold, the people will have been frightened but they would have been assured by the pilot or by somebody behind this, 'This is easy. Don't worry about this. It's not very far. Just get in here, and everything's going to be okay.'
'And that's what happens. So that's why the messaging is so important… please do not, do not engage with human smugglers to get across the English Channel.
'We have to stop this, we have to stop the boats because I'm afraid this is highly, highly dangerous.
'When a vessel runs into trouble on the English Channel, we cannot guarantee your safety - we can only do everything in our power to try and save lives.
'But we cannot guarantee that because these are really, really difficult conditions and these are dangerous waters and I'm afraid that message is not played up enough in this whole debate.'
As well as an HM Coastguard Search and Rescue helicopter vessels at the scene include two RNLI lifeboats from Ramsgate and Rye, the Royal Navy patrol boat HMS Severn, a French coastguard patrol boat Kermorvan as well as two fishing vessels.
GB News was reporting this morning Ashford hospital in Kent had been told to clear the A&E ahead of 'multiple casualties.'
An ambulance was seen to pull up at Dover Harbour close to where migrants are usually brought ashore at the former jetfoil terminal around 7.40am.
Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said she was 'very saddened to hear that lives are feared to have been lost following a small boat tragedy in the English Channel'.
It is understood the alarm was raised in the early hours after the dinghy carrying a group of migrants began to sink mid-Channel in freezing waters, according to unconfirmed reports from BBC News and it is feared there have been a number of fatalities.
A French SAR helicopter is also involved in the operation along with the Kent and Sussex Air Ambulance.
A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson said this morning: 'HM Coastguard is currently coordinating a search and rescue response to an incident involving a small boat off Kent, working with the Navy, Border Force, Kent Police and other partners.
'We have sent Dover, Dungeness, Hastings and Ramsgate RNLI lifeboats and Deal, Dungeness and Folkestone coastguard rescue teams, along with the coastguard area commander.
'HM Coastguard helicopters from Lydd and Lee on Solent and one from the French Navy are involved. A fishing vessel in the area is also assisting in the rescue. South East Coast Ambulance and Kent Police are working with us and an air ambulance has been sent.
'The incident is ongoing and we have no further information.
'HM Coastguard will continue to safeguard life around the seas and coastal areas of the UK, working with search and rescue resources in the area. If a vessel needs search and rescue assistance, HM Coastguard will continue to respond to all those in need.'
News of the rescue operation will prompt fears someone could be seriously hurt or worse.
The worst drowning of migrants crossing the Channel happened on the night of November 24, 2021.
A rubber dingy carrying carrying 34 people sank after repeated calls for help to rescue services on both sides of the Channel.
In July it was reported a preliminary investigation, carried out by a law firm on behalf of some of the relatives, uncovered communications between the British and French emergency services which suggests neither side took responsibility for the unfolding disaster.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman MP tweeted today: 'I am aware of a distressing incident in the Channel this morning and I am being kept constantly updated while agencies respond and urgently establish the full facts.
'My heartfelt thoughts are with all those involved.'
A UK Government spokeswoman said: 'We are aware of an incident in UK waters and all relevant agencies are supporting a coordinated response. Further details will be provided in due course.'
Sky News were reporting between 30-50 people may have been on board the dinghy at the time of the incident but this has not yet been confirmed.
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