At least three people died on Sunday in an attempt to illegally cross the Channel, the mayor of Sangatte (Pas-de-Calais) toldAFP. Around 6 a.m., several people found themselves in the water after trying to board an overloaded boat, the Manche and North Sea Maritime Prefecture (Prémar) toldAFP. In addition to the three people who died, “seven people are in relative emergency”, indicated the mayor of Sangatte, Guy Allemand, to theAFP.
A major emergency system was deployed according to BFMTV including a helicopter from the French Navy. Around fifty migrants were taken care of by the Utopia association. Still according to our colleagues, ten people were treated by firefighters in a state of severe hypothermia. According to the maritime prefecture relayed by theAFPthe boat continued on its way.
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An “unprecedented” device
Around fifty were taken care of on land, either by associations or by state services, and several resources were deployed at sea, including a helicopter from the national navy, indicated the maritime prefecture. Among these people, many were in a situation of hypothermia, continued Prémar.
“It doesn’t stop, it’s crossing after crossing, there’s no decline, quite the contrary,” reacted Guy Allemand.
The system put in place is “unprecedented in the town”, he assured, specifying that 41 migrants are welcomed at the town's nautical base, supervised by the police.
76 migrants died this year
Since Christmas, light winds have favored crossing attempts. Between Wednesday and Saturday, nearly 1,500 migrants arrived in English waters aboard small boatsfrail boats often overloaded, according to figures communicated by the British authorities. Since January, more than 36,000 people have successfully crossed by this means.
This new tragedy brings to at least 76 the number of migrants who have died this year in such attempts. On December 27, 18 migrants were rescued off the coast of Dieppe (Seine-Maritime) on board “of a precarious boat”. On Christmas Day, more than a hundred migrants were rescued.
