The SNSM saved 154 migrants at sea who were trying to reach England on makeshift boats between Monday and Tuesday in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais.
One hundred and fifty-four migrants who were trying to reach England on makeshift boats were rescued between Monday and Tuesday in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais, the maritime prefecture announced on Tuesday.
On Monday, 22 migrants were first recovered from a boat off Bray-Dunes (North) and dropped off at the port of Dunkirk where they were taken care of by the border police (PAF) and the departmental operational center of fire and rescue, according to a press release from the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea (Premar).
In parallel, “the Regional Operational Center for Surveillance and Rescue (Cross) Griz-Nez is informed that a boat is in difficulty off the dike of the Braek” and then hires a boat from the national sea rescue company (SNSM). Once in the area, “he collects and drops them off at the port of Dunkirk”.
Later, “the Cross Gris-Nez is put in contact with castaways requesting assistance off Leffrinckoucke”: 39 castaways were recovered by a customs patrol boat and dropped off at the port of Dunkirk.
15,400 migrants underwent the crossing between August 1 and August 31
The Cross was then contacted by the tanker Baixas Knutsen which reported an embarkation off the Pas-de-Calais: 27 castaways were recovered and deposited at the port of Calais.
On Tuesday, the Cross Griz-Nez hired assistance to a new boat, carrying 46 people, who were rescued and transported to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer aboard a SNSM canoe, according to a new press release from the Prefecture.
Since the end of 2018, illegal crossings of the Channel by migrants have been seeking to reach the United Kingdom have multiplied despite repeated warnings from the authorities who highlight the danger linked to the density of traffic, strong currents and the low temperature of the water.
According to the maritime prefect Philippe Dutrieux, some 15,400 migrants attempted the crossing between January 1 and August 31, of which 3,500 were “recovered in difficulty” in the strait and brought back to the French coast. In 2020, 9,500 people attempted the crossing, compared to 2,300 in 2019 and 600 in 2018.
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