People smugglers have apparently expanded their Channel operations dramatically, launching an overcrowded dinghy carrying an estimated 140 migrants from east of Cherbourg, roughly 200 nautical miles from the usual departure areas around Calais and Dunkirk.
French authorities deployed lifeboats, a patrol vessel and helicopter to monitor the craft as it headed towards Britain, with UK lifeboats responding after it entered British waters and transferring those aboard for onward processing at Manston.
The unusually long and hazardous route emerged as improving weather allowed at least six migrant boats to leave France, potentially bringing around 300 people to Britain in a single day.
A French Coastguard spokesman said migrants aboard such “systematically overloaded boats” frequently refuse assistance unless facing an emergency, while the UK Home Office maintained that crossings are falling and said more than 48,000 attempted departures have been prevented since the election. The development nevertheless raises concerns that trafficking networks are shifting launch operations farther west to circumvent intensified enforcement along the traditional northern French coastline.
UK Home Office maintained that crossings are falling and said more than 48,000 attempted departures have been prevented since the election. I smell bullshit.