UK Armed Forces Are Asked to Help Deal With Migrant Boats Crossing Channel

UK Armed Forces Are Asked to Help Deal With Migrant Boats Crossing Channel
The British Border Force vessel “Nimrod” patrols the English Channel on Jan. 2, 2019. Leon Neal/Getty Images
|Updated:

LONDON—Britain’s armed forces have been asked to help deal with boats carrying migrants across the Channel from France, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday after a spate of arrivals on the southern English coast.

Taking advantage of a spell of hot weather and calm sea conditions, hundreds of people including children and pregnant women have made the dangerous 33 kilometre (21 miles) crossing in recent days, many in overloaded rubber dinghies and other small vessels.