Two drifting bodies were discovered on Tuesday off the coast of Calais by a patrol boat of the French Navy, announced the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea (Prémar).
The two bodies were located early in the afternoon by the Cormoran patrol boat dispatched to the area following a report.
This patrol boat had been diverted by the regional operational surveillance and rescue center (Cross) after a ferry had reported having observed “a body adrift off the coast of Calais”, said the maritime prefecture.
According to the same source, “the two deceased people were picked up by the PSMP boat (maritime and port security platoon) and placed at the dock in Calais”.
The bodies were taken care of by the maritime gendarmerie and an investigation was opened by the Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor's office (Pas-de-Calais), added Prémar.
Several bodies have been found on the beaches of Pas-de-Calais since the end of October, while clandestine crossings of the Channel by migrants have increased in recent weeks, with small, rudimentary and often overloaded canoes, called ” small boats”.
At least 60 migrants have died trying to cross the Channel since the start of the year, making 2024 the costliest year in human lives since the appearance of the “small boat” phenomenon in this area. in 2018.
