A small boat carrying migrants off the south east coast of England has sunk, killing some of those on board, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

A spokesman at the Ministry of Defence confirmed an incident was ongoing but declined to give any further details.

The Coastguard agency said it was coordinating the response to "an incident involving a small boat off Kent". It was working with the Navy, Border Force officials and local police. Four lifeboats had been dispatched to the area, it said.

"The incident is ongoing and we have no further information," it said. (Reporting by Kate Holton and Farouq Suleiman; editing by Elizabeth Piper and William James)