Lifeboat crews saved 108 migrants' lives in 2022 - RNLI

Lifeboats were launched to rescue migrants successful the English Channel 290 times past year, the RNLI has said.

The foundation has published details of its enactment connected migrant crossings for the archetypal time.

The RNLI, which has been criticised arsenic moving a "taxi service" for migrants, said it had saved 108 lives successful the Channel, betwixt France and the Kent coast.

Its main enforcement said helium made nary apology for redeeming lives astatine sea.

Lifeboats, which are staffed by unpaid crews, were launched much than 9,000 times astir the seashore of the UK and Ireland successful 2022.

Rescues of migrants successful the Channel were launched 290 times, meaning tiny vessel crossings present marque up 3% of the RNLI's work.

Crews are facing progressively traumatic scenes erstwhile they are sent to rescue a tiny boat.

Simon Ling, the RNLI's caput of lifeboats, said: "We've had babies thrown astatine our lifeboats, women screaming, men screaming.

"It's a precise chaotic situation. Our crews are trained however to negociate that and however to rapidly get into rescue mode."

A full of 1,100 tiny boats made the crossing past year, according to a number kept by BBC News, meaning a lifeboat was called to rescue astir 1 successful each 4 of them.

Help from the charity's 238 lifeboat stations is requested by coastguard officers.

Lifeboats from 9 stations astir the Sussex and Kent coast, from Hastings to Whitstable, are those astir often progressive successful migrant rescues.

The erstwhile UKIP person Nigel Farage has criticised the RNLI arsenic a "taxi work for amerciable immigration", though the effect to specified nationalist disapproval has included an summation successful donations.

The charity's yearly study for 2022 reveals a nett summation successful income of 3.5%, immoderate of which came from higher donations - though costs besides rose.

Some of the wealth has been spent connected processing a caller instrumentality called "sea stairs", a floating level which allows crews to rescue radical from the h2o much quickly.

Mr Ling described the floating level arsenic a "game-changer".

He said a accepted rescue of a stricken tiny vessel would instrumentality astir 1 infinitesimal per person, portion the oversea stairs allowed 20 radical to beryllium taken from the h2o successful 90 seconds.

Monday's full of 616 radical coming crossed successful tiny boats means 8,380 migrants person made the crossing truthful acold successful 2023.