A first boat was rescued during the night of Tuesday January 14 to Wednesday January 15. A few hours later, other people requested assistance.
A rescue operation was carried out off Pas-de-Calais during the night of Tuesday January 14 to Wednesday January 15, indicates the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea. Several “departures of migrant boats” were reported, and 99 people were rescued during the night.
The Gris-Nez regional operational surveillance and rescue center (CROSS) hired an intervention tugboat in the middle of the night to locate a boat in the Huchette beach area, located between the municipalities of Gravelines and Calais.
Also mobilized at this time, the Utopia 56 association reported to CROSS that several people on board this boat had fallen into the water. After several hours, the CROSS received “calls from migrants requesting assistance”, specifies the prefecture.
Two boats rescued
Initially, 58 people were rescued and brought back to the dock in Boulogne-sur-Mer early in the morning. They were taken care of by land emergency services.
The departure of another boat was reported in parallel off Malo-les-Bains, in the North. A ship was then chartered to monitor it. A few later, some of the people on board requested assistance. This time, 41 people were rescued on board the rescue ship, while the rest of the people on board continued on their way.
“Given the risks of falling into the sea or injuries incurred by people in the event of forced intervention by French emergency services, the choice is made to let them continue their journey, while ensuring monitoring of their crossing”, specifies the maritime prefecture.
The 41 people were brought back to Calais and taken care of by land services.
76 people trying to illegally cross the Channel had already been rescued off the town of Calais on the evening of Monday January 13. In 2024, attempts at clandestine crossings of the Channel have been dramatic, making this year the deadliest ever recorded since the appearance of the phenomenon of “small boats”, these makeshift boats used to try to cross the Channel. At least 76 deaths were recorded during these attempts.
