Eighty-six migrants, who were trying to reach England aboard two makeshift boats, were rescued on Wednesday June 29 in the Channel, announced the maritime prefecture.
Read alsoMigrants: the number of Channel crossings up sharply this year
A first boat, which was carrying 46 people, was spotted overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais.
Rescued by a canoe rescuers at sea (SNSM), the shipwrecked were dropped off at the port of Dunkirk, said in a press release the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea (Premar).
Exploding attempts
Another boat was also “
reported in difficulty off Le Touquet
”.
Two of the 40 castaways, who had "
thrown themselves into the water to swim back to the coast
", had to be "
recovered
" by a National Navy helicopter, according to Premar.
The 38 others were picked up by Berck sea rescuers and dropped off on Cuq beach (Pas-de-Calais).
According to the Ministry of the Interior, attempts to illegally cross the Channel by migrants wishing to reach England exploded in the first half of 2022, after an already record year 2021.
Between January 1 and June 13, 2022, “
777 crossing events and attempted crossings in small boats involving 20,132 candidates (+68% compared to the same period in 2021) were recorded
” by the authorities.
Source of tension between Paris and London
In 2021, these attempted crossings, generally by inflatable boats from the north coast between Calais and Dunkirk, had reached a "
record
", with 52,000 people having attempted it and 28,000 migrants having succeeded, according to data from Place Beauvau communicated in January.
Read alsoChannel crossings: an alleged supplier of smugglers' boats arrested
These sea crossings have become a regular source of tension between Paris and London, especially since Brexit.
According to the maritime prefecture, 38 migrants died in 2021 while trying to reach England by sea from the northern coast of France, including 27 in the same shipwreck on November 24.
