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EUROPE-MIGRANTS-FRANCE-BRITAIN
France rescues 31 migrants in English Channel
LILLE, France, Oct 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Thirty-one migrants were rescued in
the English Channel on Friday trying to make their way to Britain in two
inflatable boats, French maritime authorities said.
A teenager and four children were among the group that ran into trouble at
sea and contacted emergency services for help, they said in a statement.
The migrants, who said they were from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, were
picked up in the early morning and brought to mainland France, several with
hypothermia.
The boats ran into difficulty in choppy waters, and one sank shortly after
its occupants were rescued, said the statement.
People are taking ever greater risks to reach Britain from France, which
has taken an uncompromising approach towards economic migrants who come to
Europe in search of a better life.
Since January, more than 1,400 migrants have been rescued either by
British or French coastguards — more than double the number who tried to
cross the busy shipping lane in 2018, according to official French figures.
France has attributed the increase to good summer weather emboldening more
to attempt the journey.
Such crossings are dangerous given the heavy maritime traffic in the
Channel as well as strong currents and cold water.
The body of an Iraqi migrant who tried to swim across the Channel to
Britain was found off Belgium’s coast in August.
He was wearing a makeshift life jacket made of empty plastic bottles, and
officials believe he drowned after setting off from a beach in northern
France, with currents dragging him into Belgian waters.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1645 hrs