“In the logic of rescue at sea, we have no territorialityé “, answers this Monday Véronique Magnin, communication officer of the maritime prefecture of the Manche to franceInfo. The prefecture reacts to the complaint lodged by the association Utopia 56 for” manslaughter “and” failure to bring assistance “against the prefect Channel Maritime, the Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Center (Cross) and the British Coast Guard after the death of at least 27 Channel migrants on 24 November, who were not rescued while they had warned the emergency services.
franceinfo: Utopia 56 is based on the testimony of the two survivors of the shipwreck who indicate that they have called for French and British help on several occasions and even communicated their GPS positions to the French rescue services. Today, did you find any traces of those calls that evening?
Véronique Magnin: Utopia 56 may well have the freedom to file complaints. At my level, I do not have any information of this type, that is to say that I have no information on the call that was made or not. Have people contacted rescuers, maybe. Has the call been received? Only the investigation will be able to give it. This is why as soon as a death at sea is observed, investigations are opened. What is certain is that when a distress situation is known, the Regional Operational Center for Surveillance and Rescue (Cross) acts and sends the appropriate means. This is what happened that day, when there were more than 100 people rescued on November 24.
The second element that emerges from the testimony of the survivors is that there was a lack of coordination between French and British rescuers. How does cooperation work? Can a boat calling you but in English territorial waters send it back to British help?
If it is a French means which is closest or which will be the most relevant to intervene on a boat in distress in the British sector, it is quite this means which can intervene.
“In the logic of rescue at sea, we have no territoriality.”
Véronique Magnin, maritime prefecture of Mancheto franceinfo
Coordination has always been effective, in any case it has precisely enabled thousands of people to be saved since the start of the year.
The number of rescues has been considerable since the start of 2021, is it a concern for you today to miss out on a dramatic situation like that of November 24?
In terms of rescue, there is no such thing as zero risk, even less in winter with increasingly cold water. The survival time of someone who falls into the water in the English Channel is particularly reduced. As soon as hundreds of people make the choice, or in any case attempt a crossing between the French and British coasts, this increases the risk for human life all the more.
We may have this fear of having, again, a boat that we cannot detect in time. It is a risk that quite simply exists because there is always a risk in going to sea when you are not equipped in a particularly dangerous maritime sector. This is indeed a worrying situation for the rest of the winter.