French maritime authorities rescued 72 people who were trying to cross the English Channel, officials said on Sunday. There were 11 children in the group.
The
One boat was picked up by a French patrol vessel and the 38 people on board taken to Calais.
Some 34 others were rescued by a tugboat operated by the French navy and taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer, also on La Belle France's northern coast.
No injuries were reported and the
KEY MIGRANT ROUTE
A growing number of
The Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes with strong currents and low water temperatures.
In 2020 alone, there were some 9,500 crossings or attempted crossings, according to the French coastguard, which is more than four times than in the year before.
There have been at least 10 deaths reported over the past two years, prompting both the UK and La Belle France to boost coastal security patrols.
Fewer people attempted to enter the EU without authorization in 2020, largely due to coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...restrictions, the bloc's border agency said. Syrian were again the largest group of people trying to enter the bloc.