Dutch authorities rescued dozens of migrants off the southern coast of the Netherlands who were found to be adrift in a boat. Departures from the West European country are highly rare, this was one of the first instances of such interceptions in a long period.
The Netherlands' coast guard saved the lives of 38 people who were stuck in open waters with the help of gendarmerie police units on Saturday (October 31).
The AFP news agency and the Netherlands Times said that the nationalities of the migrants were cited as being 36 Afghan men and two Sudanese nationals, though this is yet to be confirmed independently; the two Sudanese men reportedly were arrested on suspicion of having smuggled the group.
The rescue took place in the early hours of Saturday, near the small town of Breskens, located about 65 kilometers away from the Belgian border. The migrant boat was reported to have lost its motor, eventually drifting off the Dutch coast.
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A spokesperson, Doron Wallin, from the Marechaussee — the Dutch Gendarmerie — told the AP news agency that no one on the boat was found to be wearing a life vest at the time of the rescue, adding that the situation the migrants were in was "very dangerous."
Upon being taken to dry land, the migrants were immediately checked for medical problems such as hypothermia, due to their exposure to the cold at sea, and given first aid before being transferred to a nearby facility for processing.
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Unusual situation
It has been assumed that the migrants were intending to cross towards the UK, although the position they found themselves in would have made any crossing much longer. Thousands of migrants cross the waters of the Channel each year to reach the UK — however, in nearly all instances they depart from the northern French coast.
In some exceptional cases, there have also been departures from Belgium but hardly ever from the Netherlands.
"These are things you usually see in France and Belgium. We rarely see it here in the Netherlands before today," Wallin said.
Authorities added that the boat might have departed from either Belgium or France initially, and that upon losing control at sea, may have found itself drifting in Dutch waters. However, the idea of the migrant vessel having departed from the Netherlands has not been ruled out at this point either.
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with AP, AFP