Seventy-one migrants trying to reach the UK on makeshift boats were rescued in the Channel earlier this week.
Two rescue operations were carried out overnight from Monday to Tuesday off the North Department.
A first boat was reported "in difficulty in the Dunkirk channel" with 38 migrants on board, according to a press release from the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea (Premar).
All were recovered by an intervention, assistance and rescue tug.
MANCHE: 71 migrants rescued off the French coast
- laquestion.info (@ndiaylatif) October 27, 2021
Crossing attempts on the rise
As the tug was heading for the port of Dunkirk, it was engaged on a second operation to rescue 33 other castaways.
All unharmed have been handed over to the border police.
This Saturday, 39 migrants had already been rescued off the Pas-de-Calais.
Six of them, fallen into the sea, had been hoisted and evacuated to the hospital in Boulogne-sur-mer, according to the Premar.
Since the end of 2018, illegal crossings of the Channel have increased despite repeated warnings from the authorities.
According to the maritime prefect, some 15,400 migrants attempted the crossing between January 1 and August 31, of which 3,500 were "recovered in difficulty".
In 2020, crossings and attempted crossings affected 9,500 people, compared to 2,300 in 2019 and 600 in 2018.
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