Highlights: Nearly 140 candidates for exile trying to reach the United Kingdom in two clandestine boats were rescued on Saturday off the French coast. 57 migrants who had taken to the sea off Gravelines late on Saturday night, after damage occurred on their boat. Five people, including a four-month-old baby, were rescued after their boat capsized near Boulogne-sur-Mer (north) Some 36,000 migrants attempted to reach England in 2023 by illegally crossing the Channel from the France coast.

Nearly 140 candidates for exile trying to reach the United Kingdom in two clandestine boats were rescued on Saturday off the French coast by two ships chartered by the French state,…

Nearly 140 migrants rescued in the Channel

Nearly 140 candidates for exile trying to reach the United Kingdom in two clandestine boats were rescued on Saturday off the French coast by two ships chartered by the French state, the maritime prefecture said on Sunday. Five others were rescued on Saturday after their ship capsized, added the Pas-de-Calais prefecture.

French and English naval vessels during a rescue operation off the coast of Calais in the English Channel, in August 2023 (illustrative image) AFP - HANDOUT

By: RFI Follow

According to the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea (Prémar), the authorities first rescued on Saturday morning 57 migrants who had taken to the sea off Gravelines (north) late on Saturday night, after damage occurred. on their boat.

Rescued by the Ridens, a ship participating in the surveillance and rescue system set up by the State in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais, these castaways were “

disembarkated and taken care of by the emergency services on land

” at the port of Calais, indicates a press release from Premar.

In the middle of the day, 75 people on board a boat requesting assistance were also rescued and recovered by the assistance and rescue tug Abeille Normandie. “

They were dropped off at the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer in the presence of rescue teams

,” the press release indicates.

In addition, five people, including a four-month-old baby, were rescued after their boat capsized near Boulogne-sur-Mer (north), the Pas-de-Calais prefecture told AFP on Saturday. “

In hypothermia, they were taken to the nearest hospital

” but their condition did not cause concern, said the prefecture. According to the newspaper La Voix du Nord, these people all come from the same Kurdish family.

Some 36,000 migrants attempted to reach England in 2023 by illegally crossing the Channel from the French coast, a figure down by more than 30% over one year, according to a report communicated at the beginning of February by the maritime prefecture, which counts 12 deaths over the past year.

Nearly 140 migrants rescued in the Channel

Nearly 140 migrants rescued in the Channel

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