Over 50 migrants rescued in Channel in two days

LILLE: More than 50 migrants including three children have been rescued in the past two days while attempting the perilous crossing of the Channel to Britain, French maritime authorities said Monday.

Attempts by migrants to make the journey by sea have soared in recent years, despite the risks of hypothermia and accidents in the choppy waters of the busy shipping lane.

Twenty-four people aboard several vessels were picked up Sunday in freezing conditions after sending distress messages.

They were brought back to France and handed over to border police agents, the maritime authority in charge of the Channel and the North Sea said.

Thirty more were rescued during two separate attempts to cross early Monday.

Last year, officials recorded a fourfold increase over 2019 in the number of Channel crossings or attempted crossings from France, involving 9,551 people.

A number of migrants also continue to try to stow away on trucks heading across the Channel by ferry or by train through the Channel Tunnel.

Hundreds of people are camping out in makeshift tents near Calais and elsewhere along the northern French coast, hoping to eventually slip across to England unnoticed.

France and Britain signed a new accord in November aimed at shutting down the route through increased patrols and the use of radar and drones to spot boats more quickly.