Fifty migrants rescued in boat off the Belgian coast

A boat carrying fifty Vietnamese got into trouble off the coast of Belgium. They wanted to make the crossing to the United Kingdom, writes the Belgian newspaper The standard.

The boat sailed from the French coast. Somewhere along the way the ship would have drifted and got into trouble.

The maritime police noticed the vessel and brought all persons on board to Nieuwpoort. The fire brigade received them there. The migrants were slightly hypothermic. Later they are taken to Ostend.

Mayor Vanden Bussche of Koksijde, which is located near Nieuwpoort, speaks of a recurring problem. “It happens almost every day that refugees try to go to England from France,” he told the newspaper. “Such situations are of course life-threatening.”

“We are already working with the French colleagues to intercept people trying to make the crossing.”

–