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Rescue ship in the English Channel
Photo: Gareth Fuller / dpa
British forces say they have rescued 38 people from the English Channel.
The dinghy in which the fugitives were traveling suddenly lost air rapidly early Thursday morning, the Ministry of Defense in London said on Friday.
Some people would have spent almost an hour in the water.
They were taken to the port city of Dover.
Her condition is stable, there are no deaths.
A total of more than 600 refugees in 14 boats reached the country on Thursday.
According to preliminary estimates, 29,700 people have reached Great Britain illegally via the English Channel so far this year.
In 2021 as a whole, there were 28,526.
The number of refugees crossing the straits towards Britain has continued to rise since 2018.
At that time, the authorities began to exercise much tighter controls on the French port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel between France and Great Britain.
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The ministry announced that significantly more people were now on the boats.
The average has increased significantly from 28 inmates in 2021 to 44.
Most recently, the government said it was amazing that there had been no serious incidents so far this year.
In November 2021, 27 people died in the English Channel after their inflatable boat capsized.
Refugees are to be flown to Rwanda
The conservative British government are the illegal crossings a thorn in the side.
As a deterrent, refugees are to be flown to Rwanda and apply for asylum in the East African country instead of in Great Britain.
If the request is granted, they should stay there.
Otherwise they face deportation to their countries of origin.
The United Nations refugee agency sees the plan as a breach of international law.
So far, refugees have not been sent to Rwanda: A flight planned for June was canceled at short notice after a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.
mfh/dpa
