An investigation into the sinking of a boat in the Channel which claimed at least eight lives found the dinghy was “wholly unsuitable and ill-equipped for the crossing attempt”.

The report into the incident in Dover by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) also revealed that the occupants could only raise the alarm by mobile phone.

The Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre was informed at 2.13am on December 14 2022 that an inflatable boat carrying asylum seekers from France to the UK was potentially in distress.

At around 3am the vessel suffered “structural failure and many of the migrants entered the water”, the MAIB said.

Thirty-nine people were rescued by fishing vessels and search and rescue personnel, but at least eight died.

The MAIB concluded: “The inflatable boat was wholly unsuitable and ill-equipped for the crossing attempt and the occupants’ only method of raising the alarm was via mobile phone.”

Four of the victim’s bodies were recovered to the UK, and the others were lost at sea.