One hundred and fifty-one migrants who were trying to cross the Channel to reach the United Kingdom aboard two separate boats were rescued during the night from Saturday to Sunday, announced the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea (Prémar ). Four of them had fallen into the water, specifies the same source.
In the evening, a passenger ship spotted a boat off the coast of Calais, the maritime prefecture reported in a press release.
On site, emergency services recovered two people from the sea in a state of hypothermia “before dropping them off at the quayside in Calais to be taken care of by land emergency services”.
The people on board the overloaded boat continued on their way before requesting assistance. A total of 82 people were rescued, including three with minor burns, the maritime prefecture said.
During the night, the Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Center (Cross) mobilized another vessel to assist another boat “overloaded and in poor condition” off the coast of Calais and emergency services recovered a total of 67 people, including two fallen into the water.
This year, more than 70 people have lost their lives during illegal crossing attempts, according to the Pas-de-Calais prefecture. This figure makes 2024 the deadliest year since 2018 and the start of these clandestine Channel crossings on small boats, called “small boats”.
