More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
The sight of lone man in a kayak on a dangerous cross-Channel journey sums up the desperation of migrants, says a support group.
He was photographed by French authorities on the same day that a record 86 migrants tried to reach Kent.
The migrant, shown with a raised hand and finger as if trying to make some sort of signal, was rescued and brought back to French shores.
Ben Bano, of Deal, is director of Seeking Sanctuary.
He said: "This picture shows the desperate lengths to which people will go to escape the worsening conditions in Northern France where migrants are harassed on a daily basis.
"Thanks to a concerted multi-national search and rescue effort he was rescued suffering from hypothermia.
"Sadly this is not the first nor the last attempt of this sort and more lives could well be lost in the future."
The picture that has now emerged is from the French Channel maritime authority préfecture maritime de la Manche et de la mer du Nord
It shows the kayaker nearly five miles outside Calais last Tuesday.
A Belgian rescue helicopter later pinpointed him 11 miles north of Gravelines near Dunkirk.
He was found to have mild hypothermia when a French rescue boat picked him up.
The man was taken to Dunkirk and handed to border police.
That same Tuesday the largest amount of migrants in one day were stopped by British authorities when they crossed the Channel for the UK.
Small boats landed in Littlestone, Winchelsea and another was seen near Dungeness
Three others vessels were stopped mid-sea, two in one incident, and the occupants were brought to Dover.
These added up to a total five incidents on the British side.
In seven days, from last Tuesday to yesterday, there have been 16 migrants incidents on both sides of the Channel involving a total 187 people.
