English Channel LIVE: Fire on migrant ‘mega-dinghy’ carrying 160 people sparks chaos | UK | News

The French maritime prefecture for the Channel and North Sea said five people were rescued in a separate operation just hours before the mega-dinghy caught on fire. 

While the five were taken aboard a French lifeboat overnight, the others on board refused help and continued their crossing.

It added: “Given the structural fragility of the boats, which are systematically overloaded, the decision is taken not to force the migrants to board the state’s rescue vessels, to avoid putting their lives at risk in the event of a shipwreck.”