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LONDON: The British coast guard said it rescued 19 migrants on Sunday from the Channel after their inflatable boat began to take on water. “The rhib (rigid-hulled inflatable boat), with 19 people on board was located at 2.00am (0100 GMT) and the incident handed over to Border Force,” it said in a statement. Thousands have been massed in northern France for months as they try to reach Britain where they believe they will have a better chance of finding employment, according to French and British charities.
Calais coast guard organization SNSM assisted in the rescue operation, according to its president Bernard Barron. “We were called for help... to search between Calais and Dover for a boat carrying about twenty people,” he said.
Helicopters from England and France took part in the search. The passengers were taken to the nearby port of Dover to be interviewed by Border Force officers, the Home Office said.
“The castaways, who were migrants, called their families, who then alerted the authorities and rescue missions were triggered on both sides of the Channel,” said Barron. “This confirms our fears: The smugglers are willing to take extreme measures, but the Channel is a real highway, presenting a great danger for this type of crossing,” he said.
Some 17 suspected Albanian migrants were detained Tuesday after a boat arrived at Chichester Marina on the south coast.