The French city of LILLE French officials reported on Saturday that over 160 migrants who had attempted to cross the Channel in makeshift boats overnight on Friday had been rescued from the icy waters just days after a deadly catastrophe. Authorities in the region’s maritime industry reported that a Navy ship rescued about 50 people from a boat “in distress” off the coast of northern France and brought them to the port of Calais. In the same location, 31 other migrants were rescued from a shipwreck and brought to the port of Boulogne by another Navy vessel.
After receiving a distress signal, the Calais Coast Guard hauled 45 additional people ashore, and a lifeboat rescued another 40 people from the water. The rescue teams responded to everyone.
This year, a record number of over 40 thousand migrants have made the perilous journey from northern France to England by boat, crossing one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world in frequently hazardous weather. At least four passengers perished on Wednesday after their ship sank off the coast of Dover, England. Just over a year prior to that disaster, at least 27 individuals had perished in another incident in the Channel. New legislation is being considered by the UK government in an effort to reduce the unprecedented numbers of migrants attempting the passage of the English Channel.