ABEILLE NORMANDIE

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

65 migrants rescued off Calais, a baby died

On October 17 several rescue forces intervened off the coast of Wissant, in Pas-de-Calais to assist a boat in difficulty. Among the 65 people on board, a baby lost his life. An investigation was opened by the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor's office. On the evening, the departure of a migrant boat off the coast of Wissant was reported to the CROSS Gris-Nez, which then engaged several vessels, among them the patrol boat 'Flamant', the 'Abeille Normandie', the 'Minck', the lifeboat 'SNS 077 Notre Dame de Risban' of the SNSM of Calais, as well as the Belgian helicopter NH90, based in Coxyde in order to relocate the boat and assess the situation on site. Once on site, it was noted that the boat, heavily loadedwas is in difficulty and that some of the people were in the water. The rescue ships then launched their semi-rigid boats and started to recover the people. The 'Abeille Normandie' rescued 65 people. At the same time, searches were being conducted to look for potential castaways at sea. During these searches, the 'Minck' located and rescues an unconscious infant who was transferred aboard the 'Abeille Normandie'. He will be declared dead by the Samu's regulating doctor, contacted by the teams on site. With the shipwreck area having been fully investigated, the maritime prefect of the Channel and the North Sea decidedto interrupt the searches led by the CROSS. The 65 castaways and the deceased infant were dropped off at the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer.

237 migrants rescued alive, four recovered dead

On the morning of Oct 5, 2024, the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed of several departures of migrant boats from the coast of the Strait of Dover. The 'Abeille Normandie' was deployed to monitor one of the boats. Among its occupants, 15 were recovered, including an unconscious child. The latter was declared dead by the doctor of the team of the mobile emergency and maritime resuscitation service and airlifted aboard the 'Abeille Normandie' by the French Navy's Dauphin helicopter based in Le Touquet. An investigation has been opened by the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor's office. A second person, injured, was airlifted to the Boulogne-sur-Mer hospital. The Calais maritime and port security platoon (PSMP) detected another boat leaving Calais. On site to monitor the boat was the PSP 'Flamant' under the coordination of the CROSS Gris-Nez. The patrol boat then recovered 71 people, three of whom were unconscious. They were declared dead by the doctors of the maritime medical coordination (SCMM). An investigation has been opened by the Boulogne-sur-Mer (prosecutor's office. The 12 people who had remained on board the boat initially refused to be rescued before being recovered by the 'Minck', which previously had rescued 16 people from another boat off the coast of Calais. The 'Ridens' rescued 54 people from a boat off the coast of Dunkirk. The lifeboat "Jean-Bart II" SNS 087 of the Dunkirk SNSM rescued 60 people from a boat. On the afternoon, a migrant boat sank. The 26 people on board were rescued by rescuers from the British Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). As of October 5, 237 people were rescued alive, while four died. The resources deployed in the operations were - the public service patrol boat (PSP) 'Flamant', - the BSAM 'Garonne'; - the RIAS 'Abeille Normandie'; chartered by the French Navy; - the state-chartered vessel 'Minck', - the state-chartered vessel 'Ridens', - the maritime affairs patrol boat (PAM) Thémis - the VCSM 'Aber Ildut', - the SNS 087 "Jean Bart II" of the SNSM of Dunkirk; - the SNS 276 "Notre-Dame des Flandres" of the SNSM of Gravelines; - the SNS 6295 "Jacques Lebrun" of the SNSM of Boulogne-sur-Mer; - the departmental fire and rescue operational center (CODIS) 62 - the Dauphin helicopter of the French Navy based in Le Touquet - the P-68 "Action Air Environnement" aircraft The surveillance operations were still in progress.

Body recovered by emergency tug could be victim of shipwreck in September

A body was discovered off the coast of Ambleteuse in the English Channel on the morning of Sep 17, who could be a migrant. The crew of a fishing vessek spotted the body. The 'Abeille Normandie' then intervened to recover the body and bring him ashore. It was probably the body of an migrant, according to the maritime prefecture. He in a state of decomposition, making it impossible to determine whether it was a person reported missing during the sinking of a boat that left eight dead on the night of Sep 14 off the coast of Ambleteuse. However, the maritime prefecture did not rule out that the body was that of a migrant who disappeared during a shipwreck of Sep 3 off the coast of Wimereux that left 12 dead.