Nearly 70 migrants preparing to set sail intercepted in the Somme

Sixty-seven migrants who were preparing to set sail were intercepted this Monday morning by the police in the dunes of Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont (Somme), France Bleu Picardie learned from a source close to the case.

A small group was first spotted on the night of Sunday to Monday. It was then seen joining several dozen people between Quend and Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont, on the Picardy coast. The exiles were about to set sail.

The police discovered a boat a few hundred metres away, as well as an engine and a can of petrol, the equipment used to attempt the Channel crossing, reports France Bleu Picardie.

The 67 migrants are of Iraqi, Iranian, Sudanese, Eritrean, Ethiopian, and Sri Lankan nationality. Several children were part of the group. All were taken to the Abbeville gendarmerie (Somme), for a study of their administrative situations. The firefighters and the Red Cross were also called in.

The weather conditions in the coming days are particularly favourable for attempted crossings in the department. The patrols of Operation Poseidon, reservists specialising in the fight against illegal immigration, have been reinforced since last week.