At least one man drowned Tuesday, October 27 after the sinking in the Channel of a small boat of migrants, Iranians according to the first elements, who were trying to cross into Great Britain.
In the morning, seventeen migrants were rescued, including three in cardio-respiratory arrest and eight in a state of hypothermia.
Two children are among the lifeless survivors, and according to the testimonies of the passengers, "
a person would be missing who could be an infant
", declared the sub-prefect Hervé Tourmente, in a press briefing in Loon-Plage (North).
A rescue operation continues
The help was engaged in the morning after the report of one or more boats in distress.
At the end of the morning, a search operation was still in progress offshore and large resources deployed, including a Belgian army helicopter, a customs patroller, a national navy vessel or a lifeguard boat, announced the maritime prefecture.
For several months, crossings of the Channel on makeshift boats have been increasing.
According to the prefecture, they have cost the lives of four migrants in 2019 and, at this stage, three in 2020. Since the beginning of the year, 479 crossing attempts have been intercepted by the French authorities while 559 have reached their goal. in Britain, according to the same source.