The passengers, who were trying to reach Great Britain, launched a distress call a few hours after leaving Dunkirk. Their inflatable boat with a capacity of seven places started to sink, indicated this Sunday the Belgian authorities.
The migrants rescued are of Egyptian, Afghan, Iraqi and Kuwaiti nationalities, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office. (Illustrative photo)
AFP
Fifteen migrants trying to reach Britain were rescued off the coast of Belgium as their inflatable boat started to sink, Belgian authorities said on Sunday.
The canoe, with a capacity of seven places, had left the French port city of Dunkirk (north) Friday evening and one of the passengers had managed to launch a distress call several hours later. The Belgian coastguards rescued the shipwrecked 11 km offshore and brought them back to the port of Ostend.
The passengers – all male – are of Egyptian, Afghan, Iraqi and Kuwaiti nationalities, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.
Human traffickers
“Human traffickers are increasingly putting migrants on small inflatable boats and directing them to the North Sea, usually from the French coast,” said Frank Demeester, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.
Their objective is to get as close as possible to the British coast to be rescued by the English coast guard and land in Great Britain.
No arrests were made in the case, the same source said.
(AFP/NXP)
–
