Off the coast of Gravelines, 65 migrants rescued on board a boat

The Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea announced in a press release that 65 people were rescued off the coast of Gravelines, in the North, on Saturday, September 7. The assistance and rescue center was notified early in the afternoon “that a migrant boat has set sail”.

“Arriving off the coast of Calais, the people on board the boat requested assistance”the statement continued. The rescue ship was able to recover the 65 exiles, who were “deposited at the quayside in Dunkirk, where they were taken care of by land rescue services.”

The maritime prefect of the Channel and the North Sea warns of the dangers in the sector, “particularly dangerous”, “with more than 600 merchant ships passing through there every day and the weather conditions are often difficult (120 days of wind greater than or equal to force 7 on an annual average, for example)”. Last week, 12 people died trying to cross to England in a seven-metre-long boat carrying 65 passengers. The ship broke apart and “all migrants” ended up in the water, according to the Prefecture.