Refugee and migrant boats are hardly ever present in Dutch waters, and authorities are nonetheless attempting to determine the place this one got here from.
Printed On 31 Oct 2026
Authorities within the Netherlands have rescued 38 individuals discovered adrift in a rubber boat off the Dutch coast, in one of many first such interceptions for the nation.
Two of the individuals on board the dinghy when it was rescued are regarded as smugglers, whereas the remaining are migrants, army police spokesperson Doron Wallin instructed The Related Press information company on Saturday.
“We don’t know the place they got here from – France, the Netherlands or Belgium – and we don’t know the place the boat was heading,” Wallin mentioned.
The boat was found drifting with no motor off the coast of the Netherlands’ Zeeland province, far southwest of Amsterdam. Nobody was carrying a life vest.
All 38 on the boat had been males, 36 of whom had been from Afghanistan, and two – the suspected smugglers – had been from Sudan, in keeping with the AFP information company. The 2 Sudanese males have been arrested on suspicion of individuals smuggling.
It’s not recognized the place the boat was headed, however refugee and migrant crossings in small boats from France to the UK have grow to be commonplace in recent times. It’s uncommon for boats to be found in Dutch waters, nevertheless.
“These are stuff you often see in France and Belgium. We hardly ever see it right here within the Netherlands earlier than right this moment,” Wallin mentioned.
Dutch authorities will open an investigation into the case on Sunday.
