Nearly 300 securing migrants in Channel trying to reach England

Rescue operations, and renewal to the French coast, took place on Tuesday. Since the end of 2018, this type of illegal crossings multiply.

Le Monde with AFP

They were trying to join England while crossing the handle in boats. Two hundred and ninety-two migrants were rescued and renewed on the French coast Tuesday, announced on Wednesday 3 November the maritime prefecture.

In the night from Monday to Tuesday, “the operational monitoring and rescue center (cross) gray-nose is informed that many boats are in difficulty off North and Pas-de-Calais”, announcement in a communiqué the prefecture of the sleeve and the North Sea, which specifies that” the operations are are continued in the day of November 2 “.

An intervention tug of the National Navy has recovered on board 108 shipwrecked during three separate rescue operations. Thirty-two other shipwrecked were rescued in an intervention by the National Sea Rescue Society (SNSM) of Dunkirk. For its part, the Calais SNSM has rescued 33 migrants during another intervention.

Multiplication of crossings

In parallel, an operation of the Dunkirk port security brigade wearing help to 36 shipwrecked. A coastal surveillance star of the Maritime Gendarmerie has also rescued and recovered on board 34 people. Finally, a patrol of the Customs Côtes Guard has rescued 49 shipwrecked at two interventions. All have been returned to ground and supported by firefighters and border police.

Since the end of 2018, the illegal crossings of the Manche by migrants seeking to gain the United Kingdom multiply despite the repeated warnings of the authorities, which remind the danger related to the density of traffic, with strong currents. and at the low temperature of the water.

According to the Maritime Prefect, Philip DuTrieux, about 15,400 migrants tried the crossing between the January 1, January 31, of whom 3,500 were “recovered in difficulty” in the Strait and accomplished on the French coast. In 2020, crossings and attempts of crossings concerned some 9,500 people, compared to 2,300 in 2019 and 600 in 2018.

/Media reports.