It is a tragedy off the Pas-de-Calais. Three people died at sea after their pleasure boat overturned Monday night near Boulogne-sur-Mer, said Tuesday the maritime prefecture.
All three had "gone to sea on a pleasure boat type fishing-walk" and their disappearance was reported Monday "early evening" by their relatives worried not to see them return, said the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea.
Several boats diverted
A helicopter of the French Navy, a Belgian helicopter and a private plane chartered by the Ministry of the Interior were mobilized, and several boats sailing nearby were diverted to participate in the search.
[#Opération] Death at sea of three boaters in Boulogne-Sur-Mer (62)
➡️https://t.co/YL5vAWTuWb pic.twitter.com/w0OkgML1nI
— Maritime Prefecture Channel and North Sea (@premarmanche) June 6, 2023
In the middle of the night, a person on land reported to the rescue "a hull of ship turned over" in the harbor of the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, which "could correspond to the report of the fishing-walk disappeared," says the prefecture in its statement.
The semi-rigid of the French Navy rescue tug Abeille Normandie recovered the empty hull, before finding the lifeless victims in the same area. The remains brought ashore were entrusted to the maritime gendarmerie in Boulogne-sur-Mer.
