four migrants died during an attempted crossing in freezing water

Four migrants died during the night from Saturday to Sunday near a beach in Wimereux (Pas-de-Calais), while they were trying to join a boat at sea in freezing water to cross the Channel, we learned AFP on Sunday from the maritime prefecture. Another migrant is “in absolute emergency, transferred to Boulogne-sur-Mer hospital”, specified the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea (Prémar), confirming information from The voice of the North.

The events took place around 2 a.m. “When a boat left the beach, people found themselves in difficulty at sea to reach the boat,” she explained. Law enforcement officers on the ground “reported the departure of the boat and the people in difficulty in the water”, added Prémar. A “a majority of the castaways were recovered by the police on site”.

The intervention tug Abeille Normandie, “who was on patrol in the area, launched his boat to rescue the castaways” And, “at this moment”, the crew has “identified inanimate and unconscious people in water”, continued this same source. The last two deaths date back to December 15, when two migrants died on the same day in two separate crossing attempts.