ARMOISE

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Police boat assisted in rescue of 34 migrants - one deceased

On the night of July 27 , the departure of a migrant boat off the coast of Calais was reported to the CROSS Gris-Nez, which deployed the 'Armoise' and the patrol boat 'Kermorvan' to locate the boat and verify the situation on site. Once on site, on July 28 at around 5:30 a.m., the heavily loaded boat was found in difficulty, and some of the people on board requested assistance. The two vessels launched their semi-rigid boats and began to recover the people in difficulty. The 'Kermorvan' recovered four castaways. During the transfer, it was noted on board the migrant boat that one person was unconscious. The victim was taken care of on board and first aid was immediately provided. The CROSS Gris-Nez then established a telephone conference with the maritime medical coordination emergency services of Le Havre and the 'Kermorvan' to assess the situation. A medical evacuation to a hospital was recommended by the doctor for the unconscious person. The CROSS deployed a Dauphin helicopter of the French Navy base in Le Touquet, which airlifted the victim to the hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer, where he was declared dead. The semi-rigid of the 'Armoise' continued to recover the migrants and took 31 people on board. The 31 castaways were then transferred to the Kermorvan. At the same time, the CROSS deployed the lifeboat 'SNS 077-Notre Dame de Risban' from the SNSM station in Calais to reinforce the SAR forces and maintain surveillance on the boat. Several people still on board the boat refused the assistance offered by the French resources. The 'Armoise' resumed its surveillance mission. Given the risks of falling overboard or injury to people in the event of forced intervention, the decision was made to let the other people on the boat continue their journey. The 34 castaways recovered by the 'Kermorvan' were then dropped off at the port of Calais, where the castaways were taken care of by the land rescue services and the border police.

153 migrants rescued from two boats

On the night of June 26, a migrant boat set sail in the Gravelines sector. The CROSS Gris-Nez deployed the 'Armoise' to check the situation on site. After a few hours of sailing, the people on board the boat asked for assistance. The crew of the 'Armoise' then began recovering people in difficulty. At the same time, and given the degraded weather conditions, the CROSS engaged the SAR vessel 'Ridens', chartered by the State as well as a means of the Maritime Gendarmerie, to provide assistance to the very loaded boat. The 'Armoise' took on board 38 people and the 'Ridens' 39 people. The 77 shipwrecked people were dropped off at the dock at the port of Calais. On the morning of June 27, the CROSS Gris-Nez engaged the 'Minck' to assist another boat in difficulty off the coast of Portel. The crew noticed that the boat had stopped and requested assistance. The crew picked up 76 people and tdropped them off at the dock at the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, where they were taken care of by the shore based rescue services and the border police.

12 migrants rescued by patrol boat

On the morning of June 26, 2024, the departure of a migrant boat near Calais was reported to the CROSS Gris-Nez. The PCG 'Armoise' was dployed to check the situation on site. The crew noticed that the boat was stuck on a sandbank but eventually resumed its route. On the afternoon, the same boat requested assistance from the 'Armoise' which took 12 people on board. The other people on board the migrant boat refused the assistance offered. The 12 people picked up by the 'Armoise' were dropped off at the port of Calais where they were taken care of by shore based emergency services.