Over the weekend, flood waters overwhelmed a group of migrants living under a bridge just outside the city. French rescuers worked for hours to try and save the group who were trapped under the bridge by rising waters. Calls are mounting to find adequate housing alternatives.
In the late morning hours of February 11, rescue services were called out to save a group of migrants who were trapped under a bridge at the mouth of the Paillon river, in Nice, as floodwaters resulted in a deluge.
The sudden rise in the water level took several migrants, who were sleeping rough in the area by surprise. Sixteen of them had to be taken to safety with the help of rescue workers, according to local authorities, who spoke to the regional newspaper Nice Matin.
Half of them were rescued in a straight-forward manner by rescue workers extending a ladder down to the stuck migrants. For others, rescue workers had to get more actively involved in the rescue.
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A total of 16 fire engines and 37 firefighters had to be mobilized to respond to the scene.
The migrants had initially reported that one person remained missing and was presumably stuck in the rushing waters; however, this was not confirmed, as authorities said in the afternoon hours that no casualties had been reported.
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Not enough done to keep migrants safe
The sixteen migrants were take to a temporary shelter, where they have been recovering from the shock of the situation. For the time being, the bridge over the Paillon river is inaccessible, but local leaders worry that the migrants — and others — might return once the waters recede.
Anthony Borre, the first deputy mayor of Nice, told the local Nice Matin newspaper that for several months he had been trying to get the migrants moved from there, saying that they were "putting their lives at risk."
"When are we going to stop demanding long and costly legal decisions from elected representatives in order to protect people who are illegally living here and putting themselves in danger?" he told the paper.
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Meanwhile, Christine Panaiotis, the president of Cimade, a local migrant charity, expressed her gratitude to the rescue workers for their efforts:
"A big thank you to the firefighters who intervened. We know many of the asylum seekers or refugees surviving under the Paillon bridge and accompany them in their asylum application process."
She added that she was upset at the thought that they could have drowned "when they should be housed by the state."
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