French authorities rescued 36 migrants on two different boats. They were found in difficulty in the Channel between France and Britain. They were immediately taken back to France by a coastguard patrol boat who declared the migrants safe and sound.
On February 6, the French operational and rescue center CROSS activated two rescue operations for 36 migrants off the port of Calais. That is according to a press release from the Prefect for the Channel and the North Sea.
The first boat spotted by French authorities had 13 migrants on board. They were transferred on to the patrol vessel Themis. Alerted by a cross-Channel ferry to another small boat, the Themis took a detour to help a further 23 migrants in difficulty. All were taken back to Calais.
Safe and Sound
The perfect stated that all of the migrants are now safe and sound. On February 8, the maritime authorities posted a tweet warning of difficult weather conditions in the area. They stated that from February 9 to February 10, they were expecting heavy seas and gusts of winds that could reach 93 kilometers per hour. They asked everyone thinking of going to sea to be careful.
According to the BBC, last week, a woman was found unconscious by French authorities during another crossing attempt. In total, the French picked up 78 people last week, and 17 migrants made it across the stretch of water to the UK.
Pilot Jailed
According to the BBC reports, on February 6, an Iranian man was jailed for two years for steering a group of migrants across the Channel in July. The boat he is accused of piloting was dangerously overcrowded.
The man, named Sadrallah B. by the BBC, was picked up by the British Border Force authorities in July. He had been piloting a rigid-hulled inflatable boat. According to the BBC, he admitted assisting unlawful immigration at Canterbury Crown Court in Kent. He was sentenced at the same hearing.
There were 15 migrants on board the boat Bahador is accused of piloting. A boat that can safely hold about eight people, according to the Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, Dan O’Mahoney.
O’Mahoney said that the “lives of everyone on board this dangerously overcrowded boat were at risk,” reported the BBC.
O’Mahoney has been tasked with ending the Channel crossings by migrants and regularly works with British and French authorities and prosecutors. He underlined the importance of prosecuting “those who have taken the helm,” wrote the BBC, because the crossings were only possible when someone was willing to pilot them. He called the actions of pilots reckless.
Meanwhile, French radio station France Info reported on February 8 that migrants in Calais were offered emergency places to sleep, as the area, like much of northern Europe, is in the grip of an arctic blast.
France Info said that the Préfecture du Nord offered 170 supplementary places for those sleeping in the temporary migrant camp known as Grande-Synthe. It added two hangars now open in Calais for all those who wanted to sleep somewhere warmer.
The region around the French north coast has been placed on “Orange alert” after snowfalls and minus temperatures were recorded.