Five boats carrying around 200 migrants spotted off Belgian coast
Five small boats carrying at least 200 migrants were spotted off the Belgian coast on Saturday morning, authorities have said. The vessels were escorted towards French waters.
The boats were seen between Oostduinkerke and Middelkerke, with one intercepted earlier in the morning and four more detected shortly before 8am. Officials say this is the first time such a large number of migrants have been at sea in the area at once.
Emergency services were deployed to guide the boats safely away. Several had already reached French waters, from where they are expected to continue towards the UK.
West Flanders governor Carl Decaluwé triggered a precautionary phase of the provincial emergency plan, allowing authorities to respond quickly if needed. He warned that many people on board were not wearing life jackets and called the situation “extremely dangerous”.
Officials believe smugglers are increasingly launching multiple boats at the same time to make interception more difficult. This tactic was also seen recently in France.
The number of crossings appears to be rising. Authorities recorded 14 departures from Belgian beaches in March and 12 so far in April, VRT NWS writes. A meeting of security services is planned next week to consider further measures.
#FlandersNewsService | Illustration Sameer © Al-DOUMY / AFP