UK: Up to 25 migrants rescued off southern coast

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON (AA) - Up to 25 suspected migrants, including children, have been rescued off the coast of southern England on Sunday.

Border force authorities intercepted two vessels near the southern county of Kent, with one boat carrying five adults and eight children, some as young as two years old, and the other, which was later intercepted, carrying up to 12 adults.

"We were heading out into the Channel to go fishing when we spotted a small vessel in the distance,” one fisherman told local radio station Yorkshire Coast Radio.

"When we got closer we could see there were about five adults and eight children in there -- some of them couldn't have been more than two years old,” he added.

"After the lifeboat picked them up we were heading back out to go fishing and we saw another small vessel with about 10 to 12 men in it heading in the direction of Folkestone,” he said.

According to the Home Office, the migrants were believed to be from Iran and Iraq. The coastguard were alerted by French authorities in the early hours of Sunday morning and rescue boats escorted the migrants to the port cities of Dover and Folkestone.

The incident comes a day after 16 suspected migrants, including two children, were rescued by the border force while crossing the English Channel.

Earlier this month, another seven suspected migrants, claiming to be from Iran, were rescued in the same area and were handed over to immigration officers.