Migrants rescued after their boat caught fire in the Channel were taken to a port in France, according to French and UK authorities, contradicting social media posts that claimed they were brought to England.
“157 migrants have now been rescued after their mega dingy caught fire in the English Channel this morning,” an August 4 post on Facebook said.
“It's understood every migrant on board survived and was safely brought into Dover with this message. I want want want !!"
However, France's Channel and North Sea Maritime Prefecture said in an email that 173 migrants were rescued and taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer. The authority initially said 157 migrants had been rescued, later revising the figure upwards.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said all the migrants rescued were returned to France.
The social media post making the claim also shared a video that was altered to make it appear as if a migrant said in English: "I want my money and my free house and English woman. It's my dream. If everyone can have that, we want it. You can't get that anywhere else. England is good."
Reuters found in a separate fact-check article that the video is an altered version of footage that news agency Associated Press published in February 2024 in which the man speaks in Arabic, not English, about having an unknown fate in Albania. The man makes no mention of travelling to England.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution declined to comment. HM Coastguard did not respond to a request for comment.
VERDICT
False. The migrants rescued on August 4 after their boat caught fire in the Channel were brought to a French port, according to French and UK authorities.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
