THE French coastguard has defended unloading some passengers from a small boat – then letting it carry on into British waters.
On Thursday one boat was just meters from the beach in Dunkirk when it struck the breakwater wall – originally used to evacuate soldiers in 1940.
Some people had been thrown overboard and some had managed to swim to the jetty.
A RIB and a lifeboat were deployed to help and one person was rescued from the breakwater and taken for medical care.
But once they had helped, the overcrowded boat was allowed to carry on to the UK – despite being close to the French shore.
A report into the incident reveals: “The boat then resumed its course and refused assistance.”
Defending its actions, the Gris-Nez Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Center (CROSS), which coordinates rescues in Channel, wrote: “Determined to reach the United Kingdom, migrants attempting the crossing in unsuitable vessels refuse assistance offered by French resources, accepting it only in cases of extreme emergency.
“Given the inherent fragility of these systematically overcrowded boats, the decision is made not to force migrants onto state rescue vessels, thus avoiding endangering their lives in the event of a shipwreck.”
The French government is understood to be backing away from claims that it had committed to change its policy of not stopping migrant boats.
