Almost 50 Migrants Detained In Northern France While Trying To Illegally Reach UK On Ferry

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd March, 2019) At least 46 undocumented migrants have been detained in the northern French port city of Calais when they climbed into a ferry to cross the English Channel and illegally reach the United Kingdom, local media reported on Sunday, citing authorities.

Around 100 migrants tried to illegally board one of the vessels docked at the port in the early hours of Sunday, with about half of them managing to climb into the vessel belonging to DFDS company, which had arrived from the southeastern UK city of Dover, Le Parisien newspaper reported.

"[Some] 44 migrants were located [on board the ferry] and detained and then transported by bus to a police station," local sub-prefect Jean-Philippe Vennin said as quoted by the newspaper, adding that two migrants had fallen into the water but were quickly pulled out by rescuers.

The outlet reported that the number of detained migrants reached 46 by Sunday morning.

A total of 71 attempts to illegally cross the English Channel were registered in 2018, surging by 59 cases compared to the previous year, according to the French Interior Ministry.