France rescues 31 migrants in English Channel

LILLE: French maritime authorities said on Sunday they had rescued 31 migrants, including three children and an infant, who were trying to cross the English Channel to the British coast in small boats.

Two of the boats, containing a total of nine migrants, found themselves in trouble on Saturday in the bay of Wissant and a ferry spotted another boat, with six more, in difficulty in the access channel to the port of Calais. In the evening, following an alert from a fishing vessel, a French Navy patrol vessel rescued 16 migrants, including the infant and three children, off Dunkirk. Four Sudanese migrants needed medical assistance.

French authorities picked up 38 migrants in the Channel on Friday. Britain’s Conservative Party government has increased pressure on France to prevent migrants coming into UK waters.