LCI editorial staff –
Their trip could have turned into a drama. 138 migrants, in difficulty as they tried to reach England on makeshift boats, were rescued Thursday off the Strait of Pas-de-Calais, the maritime prefecture announced on Friday.
“Thursday, December 16, the Gris-Nez regional operational surveillance and rescue center (CROSS) is informed that many boats attempting to cross the Channel are in difficulty in the strait”, indicates the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea in a press release.
Two French Navy ships and two all-weather boats from the National Society for Rescue at Sea (SNSM), respectively from Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais) and Dunkirk (Nord), intervened to recover the 138 castaways and bring them back to the quay.
The latter were taken care of by the border police (PAF) of the ports of Gravelines, Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer, and the departmental fire and rescue service (SDIS).
Since the end of 2018, illegal crossings of the Channel by migrants seeking to reach the United Kingdom have increased despite repeated warnings from the authorities who highlight the danger linked to the density of traffic, strong currents and the low temperature of the water.
On November 24, 27 migrants drowned in the English Channel after their inflatable boat took on water. Only two men had been rescued, an Iraqi Kurd and a Sudanese, according to the Interior Ministry. According to one person’s testimony, 33 people were on board when the smugglers counted them. It is the worst shipwreck in the history of this region.