They tried to cross despite the polar temperatures. More than 160 migrants who wanted to reach England were rescued at sea between Friday night and Saturday, according to the maritime prefecture. About 50 people 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, rescued 31 other castaways in the same area, and was dropped off at the port of Boulogne-sur-mer. Also heading off Calais, a customs coastguard boat picked up and brought 45 other migrants back to the dock. Finally, a canoe from the National Sea Rescue Society (SNSM) helped 40 people in difficulty off Oye-Plage and was seen by the Cross Gris Nez (Regional Operational Center for Surveillance and Rescue).
Record in 2022
The maritime route between France and England is one of the busiest in the world, “with more than 400 commercial ships passing through it a day and weather conditions are often difficult”, according to Premar. But more and more exiles are trying to cross. More than 40,000 migrants arrived in Britain 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 on November 24, 2021, in which 27 people died.