Five boats carrying at least 200 migrants were spotted off the Belgian coast on Saturday morning and were escorted towards French territorial waters.
Rescue teams from the Flemish maritime and coastal services agency (MDK) guided the boats to French waters, confirmed the agency’s spokesperson. The vessels are expected to be taken onwards to England.
Carl Decaluwé, Governor of West Flanders, initiated the pre-alert phase of the provincial emergency plan to prepare for additional resources, including the requisitioning of boats if needed. “This is the first time we’ve seen so many boats at once. In France, smugglers have also adopted the same tactic of sending out multiple boats simultaneously, making interception challenging,” he stated.
The governor has repeatedly raised alarms over the growing number of migrant boats. He expressed concern about further increases in such crossings over the coming weeks and months. “Next week, all security services will meet to discuss and implement additional measures,” Decaluwé added.
