Twenty-four migrants were rescued at sea and brought back to the French coast on Sunday as they tried to reach England on board makeshift boats.
Migrants aboard "several boats" have themselves contacted the regional operational center for surveillance and rescue (CROSS) Gris-Nez to "report in difficulty" in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais, said in a statement the prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea.
[#Scue] of 24 migrants in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais thanks to the support of the VCSM Escaut of the @Gendarmerie maritime and the BSAM Rhône of the @MarineNationale, under the coordination of #CROSS Gris-Nez ➡️https: / /t.co/KXGEFG4T6B pic.twitter.com/IjusXzzikB
- Maritime Prefecture Channel and North Sea (@premarmanche) January 10, 2021
Fourteen migrants were first rescued by a coastal speedboat from the maritime gendarmerie and dropped off at the port of Dunkirk (North), to be taken care of by the border police (PAF) shortly after 10 a.m.
A French Navy boat then rescued 10 other migrants off Ambleteuse (Pas-de-Calais).
Brought back to the port of Boulogne sur mer, they were handed over to the PAF at 2:45 p.m.
More than 9,500 crossings or attempts in 2020
Since the end of 2018, these illegal crossings of the Channel have been increasing despite repeated warnings from the authorities stressing the danger linked to the density of traffic, strong currents and low water temperature.
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In 2020, more than 9,500 crossings or attempted crossings of this type were recorded, i.e. four times more than in 2019, according to a report from the French authorities.
Six people have died and three are missing, after four deaths in 2019.
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This new attempt at crossing also echoes the multiple controversies over the daily lives of hundreds of exiles on the French coast.
PS and EELV elected officials from the North, including Patrick Kanner and Karima Delli, again alerted on Saturday to the "unworthy" living conditions of migrants in Grande-Synthe, who live "on the ground, in the cold, in the mud" and at will. regular evacuations, calling for a “real reception policy”.
