Lille (France) (AFP) – French rescuers picked up 22 migrants including 11 children whose vessel broke down as they tried to cross the Channel in a bid to reach Britain, French maritime authorities said Tuesday.
A British fishing boat had alerted French officials on Tuesday afternoon after spotting the boat in distress.
The migrants were eventually brought back to Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France and handed over to border police.
Migrants are taking ever greater risks to reach Britain from France, which has taken an uncompromising approach towards so-called economic migrants who come to Europe in search of a better life.
Since January, some 1,450 migrants have been rescued either by British or French coastguards — more than double the number who tried to cross the busy shipping lane in the whole of 2018, according to official French figures released Monday.