French coast guard withdraws 84 migrants from boats in the English Channel

The French coast guard rescued 84 migrants on the Channel bound for Great Britain. According to the maritime services, these are several boats with people on board, including eight children and three babies.

A dinghy, with 11 migrants on board, encountered problems early this morning off the French coastal town of Le Touquet. Shortly after, the coast guard received a report from a boat off Boulogne-sur-Mer, a little further north. There were 24 people on this boat.

While on patrol at sea, a dinghy was also discovered with 30 people on board. Then a fourth boat followed with 19 refugees. All persons on board all vessels have been safely disembarked, say the French authorities.

Risky journey

Migrants regularly cross the Channel to reach Great Britain. They often make the trip in small dinghies. A risky journey, because many ships navigate the Channel between Dover and Calais.

About 600 pass through it every day, mostly giant containers over 300 meters long. That alone makes the dinghy crossing risky. In addition, there are strong currents, high waves and irregular weather conditions.

Ripped four times more often

The French coastguard was deployed more than four times more often last year than the previous year to recover migrants illegally crossing the Channel. A total of 9,551 migrants were intercepted as they attempted to navigate to Britain. In 2019, there were 2,294.

In 2020, at least six people died trying to cross the Channel. In 2019, there were four.