The operation occurred off the coast of Zeeland province, located southwest of Amsterdam, where 38 men were found adrift without life vests. Among those rescued were 36 Afghan migrants and two Sudanese nationals, who were subsequently taken into custody on human trafficking allegations. While small boat crossings are increasingly frequent between France and the United Kingdom, Dutch military police noted such events rarely occur in Dutch territory. Authorities are launching a probe on Sunday to clarify if the vessel departed from Belgium, France, or the Netherlands.
Key points
Dutch military police emphasized that small boat migrant interceptions remain exceptional…: Dutch military police emphasized that small boat migrant interceptions remain exceptionally rare within the maritime territory of the Netherlands.
Official investigations are underway to establish whether the voyage originated in the Ne…: Official investigations are underway to establish whether the voyage originated in the Netherlands, France, or nearby Belgium.
The vast majority of the individuals rescued during the operation were identified as migr…: The vast majority of the individuals rescued during the operation were identified as migrants arriving from Afghanistan.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Refugee and migrant boats are rarely found in Dutch waters, and authorities are still trying to establish where this one came from.
Authorities in the Netherlands have rescued 38 people found adrift in a rubber boat off the Dutch coast, in one of the first such interceptions for the country.
Two of the people on board the dinghy when it was rescued are thought to be smugglers, while the rest are migrants, military police spokesperson Doron Wallin told The Associated Press news agency on Saturday.
“We don’t know where they came from – France, the Netherlands or Belgium – and we don’t know where the boat was heading,” Wallin said.
The boat was discovered drifting with no motor off the coast of the Netherlands’ Zeeland province, far southwest of Amsterdam. No one was wearing a life vest.
All 38 on the boat were men, 36 of whom were from Afghanistan, and two – the suspected smugglers – were from Sudan, according to the AFP news agency. The two Sudanese men have been arrested on suspicion of people smuggling.
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