Eighteen migrants whose boat was taking on water while trying to cross the Channel were rescued Thursday, November 26, announced the maritime prefecture, while 28 others, including families, were taken care of on a beach after capsizing.
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The Gris-Nez Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Center (CROSS) was warned around 6.30am that a boat was in difficulty about 19 km off Fort Ambleteuse (62).
The boat was taking on water in a sea at a temperature of 12 degrees.
Two hours later, the 18 migrants were recovered by the crew of the Abeille Languedoc tug chartered by the French Navy.
Deposited at the quayside in Boulogne-sur-Mer, they were handed over to the border police (PAF).
The same morning, 28 migrants stranded on Wissant beach, halfway between Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer after their makeshift boat capsized when it was launched, according to the Pas-de prefecture. -Calais.
Five members of two families were transported to Calais hospital for surveillance and 10 people arrested by the PAF, the prefecture taking care of the “shelter” of the others.
If the cliffs of Dover seem very close to the coast of Pas-de-Calais on a clear day, the English Channel can be very dangerous for the precarious boats of migrants, with sustained traffic and strong winds and currents.
At the end of October, a shipwreck left four dead and three missing, decimating an Iranian Kurdish family.
This is the worst migratory drama to date in the English Channel, where attempts to cross by boat have increased since 2018.
