French, UK vessels save 157 migrants from burning boat in Channel
French and British vessels saved 157 migrants after their boat caught fire while trying to cross the Channel on Tuesday, authorities in both countries said. It is one of the largest such rescue operations reported since records began in 2018. “A small boat caught fire on the boundary between French and British waters, forcing its occupants to jump overboard” on Tuesday morning, the prefect’s…
French and UK vessels have successfully rescued 157 migrants from a burning boat in the English Channel, according to authorities from both countries. The incident occurred on Tuesday morning when the small boat caught fire near the boundary between French and British waters, forcing the migrants to jump into the water. No casualties were reported among the rescued migrants, who had departed from Veules-les-Roses in Normandy the previous day.
The French prefect's office confirmed that a small boat caught fire, while the British coastguard stated that UK vessels and a lifeboat were assisting after a vessel caught fire earlier in the morning. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution also reported launching a lifeboat at 6am to respond to the incident. Recent weeks have seen larger dinghies crossing the shipping lane, with an average of 65 people now being found on these small boats, up from 26 in 2021.
France has historically been a launch pad for migrants attempting the perilous journey across the Channel to reach the UK, with over 41,000 migrants landing on England's southern coast last year. So far in 2022, 14 people have died while attempting the crossing, according to official French and British sources.
Brief written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
