One hundred and twenty-six migrants, including several women and children, were rescued at sea in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais on Friday as they tried to reach England on board makeshift boats, the prefecture said on Saturday maritime Channel and North Sea, the “Premar”.
A first boat, reported in difficulty off Dunkirk (North), carried 43 people, including six women, two children and two babies, according to a press release from the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea (Premar).
They were taken care of by the Cormorant patroller of the French Navy.
A passenger was in a state of hypothermia, he was taken care of by firefighters at the port of Dunkirk.
[# Operation] Search and rescue of 126 castaways off the Strait of Pas de Calais (62) by the RIAS Abeille Languedoc and the Cormoran PSP of the @National Marine under the coordination of #CROSS Gris-Nez Flèche ➡️https: // t .co / ocTYnDBj7b pic.twitter.com/da1OBxx5bl
- Prefecture maritime Channel and North Sea (@premarmanche) September 11, 2021
The Dunkirk harbor master's office then reported a boat in difficulty in the Calais channel.
The canoes are often overloaded.
The Abeille Liberté was sent to their aid.
40 migrants were on board.
The tug also recovered 43 people close to the sinking, who had called for assistance, according to Premar.
The 126 migrants, after being examined by firefighters if necessary, were handed over to the air and border police.
Always more crossings
Since the end of 2018, illegal crossings of the Channel by migrants seeking to reach the United Kingdom have multiplied despite repeated warnings from the authorities who highlight the danger linked to the density of traffic, strong currents and low temperatures. some water.
Between Sunday evening and Wednesday evening alone, nearly 200 migrants risked capsizing or drowning off the coast of Hauts-de-France.
Read alsoMigrants: more than 800 Channel crossings on Saturday, a sad daily record
On Monday, 785 migrants arrived in the United Kingdom by sea. According to the maritime prefect Philippe Dutrieux, some 15,400 migrants attempted the crossing between January 1 and August 31, of which 3,500 were "recovered in difficulty" in the strait and brought back to the French coasts.
In 2020, 9,500 people attempted the crossing.
This number has prompted Britain to train its coast guards to push boats back out of its territorial waters to send migrants back to France, a process contrary to international maritime law.
Paris is fiercely opposed to it.
