They tried to reach England aboard makeshift boats. 166 migrants were rescued at sea between Friday evening and Saturday, in freezing temperatures, a few days after a deadly shipwreck. About 50 people, who were traveling aboard the same boat “in difficulty” off Pas-de-Calais, were rescued by a Navy ship and brought back to the port of Calais, according to a press release from the maritime prefecture of the English Channel and the North Sea (Premar).
Another ship chartered by the French Navy, for its part, rescued 31 other shipwrecked people in the same area, deposited at the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer. Engaged off Calais, a customs coastguard boat also picked up and brought to the dock 45 other migrants who were calling for help.
Finally, a canoe from the national sea rescue company assisted 40 people in difficulty off Oye-Plage and spotted by the Cross Gris Nez (Regional Operational Center for Surveillance and Rescue). All were taken care of by firefighters and border police, while temperatures remained negative for part of the day on Saturday in the department.
40,000 migrants arrived in the UK in 2022, a record
The maritime route between France and England is one of the busiest in the world, “with more than 400 commercial ships passing through it per day and the weather conditions are often difficult”, underlines the Premar.
However, more and more exiles attempt the crossing. More than 40,000 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in small boats in 2022, a record.
On Wednesday, a shipwreck off Dover claimed the lives of at least four people, just over a year after the tragic one of November 24, 2021, in which 27 people died.