Wimereux: Just a day after 12 migrants died in a failed effort to cross the English Channel aboard a small inflatable, another boat carrying several dozen people appears to be making another crossing attempt from the coast of northern France on Wednesday, seemingly trying to head toward Britain.
Associated Press journalists on a beach in Wimereux, on the northern French coastline and close to the site of Tuesday's deadly sinking, broadcast live video of an inflatable boat crowded with people, seemingly migrants, out at sea. The boat is so laden that some of those aboard, crammed side-by-side on the inflatable tubes, have their legs over the sides.
Many are wearing orange life preservers. A small patrol boat flying a French flag approached the inflatable at one point and a crew person aboard then tossed more orange life vests about half a dozen of them to people aboard the vessel, who caught them. Another larger patrol vessel with a French tricolour stripe on its side identified by maritime authorities as the French Gendarmerie's coastal patrol vessel Armoise is shadowing the inflatable from a distance away.
The French maritime agency that oversees that stretch of the channel confirmed to the AP that an operation was underway to monitor the inflatable, in case it ran into difficulty or the people aboard requested assistance. The agency said that the Armoise was involved in that operation, accompanied by its own smaller boat that it carries with it.
The gray seas of the English Channel are comparatively calm, with small waves lapping against the beach, where people are strolling and walking dogs. Still, the inflatable appears to making only slow headway. Even though AP's journalists filmed it for more than an hour, it remained clearly visible from shore, with the small patrol vessel buzzing around it.
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