63 people were rescued at sea over the weekend as they tried to reach England in makeshift boats, the French authorities stated on Sunday evening.
The Cap Gris-Nez regional surveillance and rescue operational centre (Cross) coordinated two rescue operations in the Pas-de-Calais Strait on Saturday night.
A boat that reportedly lost its engine in the water was rescued off the Pas-de-Calais by the French coast guard, which brought the 46 shipwrecked people to shore, the maritime prefecture said in a statement.
A support vessel chartered by the French state to reinforce search and rescue operations recovered 17 shipwrecked people from a second boat off Oye-Plage.
France Charges Five Coastguard Staff Over Tragic Migrant Disaster in English Channel
In a devastating incident that occurred in 2021, French authorities have charged five military personnel with failing to rescue 27 people who drowned in the English https://t.co/JiRojbRtCK pic.twitter.com/k1x8tBiimI — UK News in Pictures(@UKNIP247) (@uknip247) May 26, 2023
These operations come just days after five Cross Gris-Nez military personnel were charged with failing to assist a person in danger. Their case was the result of an investigation into the death of 27 migrants when their boat sank at the end of 2021. The five, three women and two men, were charged on Thursday in Paris but were subsequently released.
In this case, the French authorities are suspected of having been called to help on around 15 occasions on the night of the shipwreck and of failing to come to the aid of the migrants.
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Despite the dangers of crossing one of the world's busiest sea routes, the Channel crossing is increasingly becoming a way for migrants to attempt to reach the UK. Some 46,000 asylum seekers crossed the Channel in 2022, the majority of them Afghans, Iranians and Albanians. 8,000 were rescued in French waters.
