PARIS, Aug. 4 — French and British rescue boats on Tuesday rescued 157 migrants from a boat that caught fire in the English Channel near the northeastern French city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, local administration said in a statement.
According to a statement issued by the French Maritime Prefecture for the Channel and the North Sea, a migrant boat departed from the French side on Monday night in an attempt to cross the English Channel. During a monitoring operation, French rescue assets identified five people on board in need of assistance.
The five people were rescued by coastguards, while the remaining occupants refused assistance offered by France, according to the statement.
On Tuesday morning, the boat caught fire near the boundary between French and British waters, forcing those on board to jump into the sea. French and British rescue resources were mobilized, rescuing 157 people, the statement said.
Local media reported that no casualties had been reported so far. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
