The search has resumed to try to find a 10-year-old child who disappeared in the Channel in Berck

A 10-year-old child disappeared Thursday afternoon in the English Channel in Berck (Pas-de-Calais), reports France Bleu Nord on Friday, August 16. He was swimming when he found himself in difficulty. Land searches were still underway Friday morning to try to find him.

The maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea, however, indicates that it will no longer send boats to explore the sea: “Without additional information and the area of ​​disappearance having been fully investigated for several hours, the prefect […] decides to interrupt the searches by directed means”. She adds: “The means that navigate in the sector are called to a careful watch”.

Around 5pm on Thursday 15 August, the child disappeared in the English Channel while swimming with his two brothers in a supervised area. All three found themselves in difficulty. Two of them, aged 10 and 13, were rescued but not the last one. It was his twin brother who raised the alarm.

The beach was evacuated at the end of the afternoon to allow emergency services to intervene. Nautical resources were notably mobilised. A helicopter and a drone flew over the area. A dog team was also deployed. Searches at sea were carried out in the evening and during the night, but also on the coast, as they could not be carried out in the Channel at night. The system was lifted at 4am before being reactivated on Friday.

An investigation has been opened for a worrying disappearance, announced the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor’s office, which specified that the family is from Yvelines. The sub-prefect of Montreuil, Isabelle Fradin-Thirode, went to the scene. A crisis unit was opened at the Berck first aid station. The rescuers specified that the yellow flag “swimming authorized but dangerous” was raised on this Berck beach on August 15. The beach is open Friday but swimming remains dangerous.