By Chris Dyer For Mailonline and Sophie Law For Mailonline
Published: 21:49 GMT, 24 February 2019 | Updated: 21:54 GMT, 24 February 2019
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A family of seven migrants have been detained after an inflatable boat was found a mile out to sea.
The group, including a mother, father and five children, were discovered after an inflatable boat was found abandoned with lifejackets that has washed up on a Kent beach.
Around 4.20am this morning, Border Force was alerted to a rigid hulled inflatable boat spotted off the coast at Kingsdown, near Deal, Kent.
The vessel was recovered around a mile off shore after four RNLI lifeboats and a Coastguard helicopter were scrambled to find the occupants of the boat.
At first there were fears people had drowned after life jackets were found on the shore around eight miles away near Shakespeare Beach in Dover.
The small rigid inflatable boat was seen bobbing in the water just after 7am on Sunday at St Margaret's Bay, around 2.5 miles from the Port of Dover in east Kent
The family group were found by police on the shore and have been transferred to immigration officials for interview.
A Border Force vessel has been launched earlier today after an empty boat was spotted floating three hours later, just after 7am at St Margaret's Bay, around 2.5 miles from the Port of Dover in east Kent.
A number of lifejackets were also found near the Shakespeare Beach, just over five miles from St Margaret's Bay.
It ha snot been officially confirmed at this stage if they are linked.
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