Le Cross then hired a National Navy patrol boat off Gravelines (North) to rescue two boats in difficulty, one with 64 people on board and the second with 57 people, added the prefecture. All were dropped off at the port of Calais. According to the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, the nationalities of the castaways are diverse: “Albanian, Georgian, Turkish, Iraqi, Afghan, Indian, Sudanese and Sri Lankan”.
A patrol boat from the maritime gendarmerie was also hired off Gravelines to rescue 63 people who were then dropped off at the port of Dunkirk (North). At the dock, “the castaways were taken care of by the departmental fire and rescue service (Sdis) and the border police (PAF)”, specified the prefecture.
