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Channel rescue after engine fire
French and British teams rescued 157 migrants after the engine of their boat caught fire in the English Channel, with the maritime prefecture for the English Channel and the North Sea saying the engine fire began on Tuesday morning while the boat was still in France’s search-and-rescue zone near British waters.
“French and British teams rescued 157 migrants”
The rescue operation brought 157 people to safety, with 103 rescued by French vessels and 54 by British vessels, and all were due to be disembarked at the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France for medical assessment and assistance.
French authorities said five people onboard required assistance overnight and were brought ashore at Boulogne-sur-Mer, while the remaining passengers refused help from French rescuers until the engine caught fire and all those on board were rescued.
CNN reported the boat’s engine caught fire and its “condition deteriorated very rapidly,” forcing French and British coastguards to rescue 157 people.
France 24 said a small boat caught fire on the boundary between French and British waters, forcing its occupants to jump overboard, and added that no casualties had been reported.
Burnham, Farage and debate
The incident fed into Britain’s political debate over Channel crossings, with Al Jazeera saying immigration is “an extremely divisive and hotly contested issue in the UK” and noting that Andy Burnham pledged he will be “relentless” in stopping people from reaching the country in small boats.
Al Jazeera also reported Nigel Farage commented on the incident in a post on X, saying, “We must put a stop to this. Our plan will save lives,” and it added that Reform UK has pledged to abolish indefinite leave to remain (ILR) if it wins the next election due to take place in 2029.
CNN said Burnham pledged his government will be “relentless” in tackling the issue and highlighted “increased enforcement activity” alongside the need to create a system which “offers safe routes for people as well, because that also takes away the selling point of the gangs.”
The French maritime prefecture said rescuers do not force people off the boats because of the risk of capsizing that would put people's lives at risk, and it also said migrants attempting the crossing often refuse rescue unless faced with an immediate danger.
Al Jazeera said five of the 157 people on board had requested rescue overnight, while the remaining passengers refused assistance and the boat continued its journey towards the UK until the engine caught fire.
What comes next for UK-France
The rescue underscored the scale and pace of Channel crossings that Britain and France are trying to manage, with ABC News reporting that an estimated 10,000 migrants have crossed the Channel from France to Britain since the beginning of the year, compared with 24,000 in the same period last year.
“10,000 migrants have crossed the Channel from France to Britain”
ABC News said the UK and French governments signed a new multimillion-euro deal aimed at reducing the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats, including increased police patrols and enhanced surveillance in northern France, and it described deployment of new technologies to reduce departures of “taxi boats.”
In the aftermath of Tuesday’s incident, the UK government spokesperson said the rescue underlined the “terrible dangers” of small-boat crossings and reiterated that authorities were working closely with France to prevent such journeys.
The Independent reported that the migrants were taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France, with 54 of them on board the British vessels, and it quoted a UK government spokesperson saying, “Those on board will be safely returned to France.”
RFI said the operation was conducted off Boulogne-sur-Mer and that the boat departed France on Monday, August 3, with five passengers taken on board during the night and landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer before the engine caught fire as the vessel approached British waters.
