FS FLAMANT

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146 migrants rescued in numerous operations

On the morning of 29, the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that a migrant boat was in difficulty off Petit-fort-Philippe and required assistance. The CROSS immediately engaged the coastal maritime surveillance vessel of the Oyapock gendarmerie to secure the boat. Once the VSCM was on site, the migrants on the boat were requesting emergency assistance. The crew then launched their semi-rigid boat and rescued 28 people. The rest of the people expressed their wish to continue their journey to British waters, under the surveillance of the 'Abeille Normandie', which was engaged by the CROSS to reinforce the VSCM. The 28 rescued people were then dropped off at the quay in Dunkirk and taken care of by land rescue services. At the same time, the CROSS hired the rescue vessel 'Ridens' to monitor a boat off the coast of Malo les Bains. When it arrived on site, it rescued one person who had fallen into the water and assisted 10 other passengers. The rest of the passengers expressed their wish to continue their journey to British waters. The 'Minck' hired by the CROSS to reinforce the 'Ridens' remained in the area to provide enhanced surveillance. The 11 rescued people were then dropped off at the quay in Dunkirk. On the morning of Aug 30 the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that several boats in difficulty were in an emergency situation off the dunes of Slack, Camiers and Sainte-cécile. The CROSS engaged the 'Abeille Normandie' to assist the boat, whch was located off the dunes of Slack, before recovering 23 of its occupants. Following the first recovery, the RIAS recovered five other occupants of another boat followed by the pPSP 'Cormoran' of the French Navy. The 28 rescued people were then dropped off at the quay in Boulogne sur mer and taken care of. At the same time, the CROSS engaged the SNSM semi-rigid boat from Berck-sur-mer, the "SNS 709 - Jean Baptiste Fournier", to assist two migrants, isolated on a sandbank off Camiers. They were rescued and dropped off at the Berck-sur-mer quay- In addition to these operations, there was a recovery of 62 people by the French Navy's hydrographic vessel 'Laplace ' off Le Touquet and a recovery of 15 people by the patrol boat 'Flamant' off Equihen Plage. All the people were dropped off at the quay in Boulogne sur mer. In total, over the last 48 hours, 146 migrants were rescued by the State resources deployed in this maritime zone in addition to the 77 people already recovered by the PSP 'Cormoran' on Aug 29.

79 people rescued in two missions

On the night of June 23, the departure of a migrant boat near Sangatte was reported to the CROSS Gris-Nez, which deployed the FS 'Flamant' to check the situation on site. Once near the boat, the patrol boat indicated that the boat had an engine failure and requestede assistance. The 'Flamant' recovered the 69 people on board, who were dropped off at the port of Calais, where they were taken care of by the rescue services. During the night, a second boat was reported to CROSS Gris-Nez, sailing in the Malo-les-Bains sector. The CROSS dep.oyed the police boat 'Oyapock' to investigate. Once in the area, the crew noticed that the boat had been heading towards the beach to take on board around 50 people, but then suffered an engine failure and went adrift. Initially, the castaways refused to be assisted and continued their drift towards the beach. After some time, a group of around ten people on board asked to be rescued by the crew of the 'Oyapock', which took them aboard. The rest of the people on board the boat managed to reach the shore by their own means. Those aboard the 'Oyapock' were dropped off at the dock at the port of Dunkirk, where they are taken care of by the rescue services.

77 migrants rescued in three missions

On March 30, 2024, the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that several migrant boats were in difficulty in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais and depolyged the 'Armoise,' to assist a boat off the coast of Bray Dunes in the morning. The crew of the 'Armoise' noticed that the boat had an engine damage and picked up the 55 people who were dropped off at the dock at the port of Dunkirk, where they were taken care of. In the morning, another boat was reported in difficulty off the coast of Marck. The CROSS then deployed the 'Flamant' of the French Navy which took care of 20 people. The rest of the people on the boat refused the assistance offered by French means. Given the risks incurred by migrants in the event of restrictive actions to force them to board State rescue resources such as falling overboard, thermal shock and various trauma, it was decided to let them continue their voyage. The rescued castaways were disembarked in Calais, where they were taken care of by land teams. The 'Flamant' monitored the boat on its way. The police boat 'Eulimene' was tasked to assist another boat with three migrants on board. The crew of the speedboat picked up the three people and took care of them.