In recent weeks, attempts by migrants to cross the Channel have multiplied. In the month of July alone, there are more than 130 people recovered at sea. Usually, Zodiac-type motor boats are provided by the smugglers, who sometimes crowd up to 20 people on board. Thursday and Friday, the migrants embarked on this dangerous equipped aboard a kayak and a paddle.
Thursday, around 8 p.m., a merchant ship crossing off Dunkirk spotted a boat in difficulty. According to the Gris-Nez Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Center (CROSS), it was a kayak with two people on board who were trying to cross the Strait of Pas-de-Calais with the sole strength of their arms.
In the open sea on a paddle board
A little less than two hours later, a lifeguard boat (SNSM) joined the kayak and picked up the two men. Safe and sound, they were unloaded at the port of Calais and taken care of by the firefighters and the border police (PAF).
This Friday morning, around 6.30 am, an even more unusual boat was reported to the maritime authorities. A sailboat has indeed spotted two men on a paddle off Gravelines.
An hour later, the two men and their board were fished out by a SNSM dinghy before being handed over to the authorities once they arrived at the port of Gravelines. According to the maritime prefecture, they too are in good health.
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- Paddle
- Lille
- Society
- Migrants