“There is not a single night without rescue alerts” in the Channel, explained Sunday, November 21 on franceinfo Bernard Barron, president of the Calais station of the National Society for Rescue at Sea (SNSM). In the English Channel, rescuers are faced with more and more attempts to cross. Nearly 250 migrants have been rescued over the past two days.
franceinfo: Did you take part in the rescue operations over the past two days?
Bernard Barron: Yes, we are in Hauts-de-France five stations and our volunteer lifeguards have been involved day and night for a few days. Yesterday, all of the SNSM lifeboats were on the water overnight and in the morning to provide assistance to these migrants in difficulty.
“For the past month, we’ve been involved roughly every other day. There isn’t a single night without rescue alerts.”
Bernard Barron, president of the Calais station of the SNSMto franceinfo
Are all rescue operations the same?
Unfortunately no. There are many rescue operations which are entrusted to the State services which are at sea, customs, the national navy, maritime affairs. They have the role of interception, of border guard. We at the SNSM are integrated into this public service system, but as we have an associative and voluntary status, we only intervene to save human lives, that is to say when the Manche control tower and from the North Sea indicates people to be saved, people at sea, in distress and in danger.
How long do the rescuers have to intervene?
It’s a golden rule with us, we have 10 minutes to wake up and reach the lifeboat and we have 5 more minutes to get out of the port and so that we can move as quickly as possible to the point. of distress reported.
What are the risks for migrants who attempt to cross the Channel?
The risks that arise are the same in November or July. The Channel is a motorway with boats passing in one direction and the other, there are 300 in each direction of movement and all these clandestine boats must cross roads which are frequented by container ships and tankers. . The dangers are the risk of collision, the difficult sea conditions and the temperature of the water.
What do migrants’ boats look like?
They have changed since the end of the summer. Formerly, smugglers had two techniques for their customers. They put them in trucks which took the ferries and they used small means of rescue like swimming pools. Since last summer, the smugglers have organized themselves. They have developed boats that are capable of carrying 50 to 60 people, entire families. We call them long boats, they are large boats that are not made to cross the Channel since they have no bottom. They are inflatables and with the overload from the first wave they bend and fill with water and become big swimming pools. Small boats are rather used by migrants who are not under the control of smugglers.