40 migrants trying to cross the Channel to reach England on board a boat were rescued at sea.
40 migrants aboard a boat were rescued in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais, overnight from Monday to Tuesday, said the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea, in a press release.
According to the latter, it was the regional operational center for surveillance and rescue (Cross) of Gris-Nez which identified the boat “in difficulty”.
The castaways were rescued by the public service patrol boat Pluvier of the French Navy. They were disembarked at the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer and taken care of by the border police (PAF) as well as by the departmental fire and rescue service (SDIS) of Pas-de-Calais.
The prefecture “warns anyone who plans to cross the Channel about the risks involved”, recalling “often difficult weather conditions”.
At the beginning of September, the number of migrants having illegally crossed the English Channel to join the United Kingdom already exceeded, three and a half months from the end of the year, the total of 2021, according to figures published Tuesday by the British Ministry of Defense.
At least 28,561 people had already undertaken this dangerous clandestine crossing at this stage of the year, against 28,526 migrants identified at the end of 2021, according to the counts of the ministry.