Fifteen migrants, including two women and a child, were rescued on Saturday April 4 on a makeshift boat off Boulogne-sur-mer (Pas-de-Calais), announced the maritime prefecture of La Manche and the Mer du North.
Shortly after 04:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, the Gris-Nez Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Center (CROSS) was contacted by a fishing vessel, indicating that a boat with several migrants was adrift about 7 km away. west of Boulogne-sur-Mer, said the maritime prefecture in a press release.
Arriving there shortly before 4:40 a.m., a coastal gendarmerie star picked up the 15 migrants, including two women and a child. Supported by the SDIS 62 firefighters and the border police (PAF) 62, they are all safe and sound.
Attempts to cross to England have multiplied since the end of 2018, despite the danger linked to the density of traffic, strong currents and low water temperature. In 2019, 2,758 migrants trying to cross the Channel were intercepted, four times more than in 2018, according to the maritime prefecture.