Migrants from small boat in Zeeland face screening
The sea rescue service and the Coast Guard brought the boat in after it was spotted near Breskens. The Marechaussee is now screening the people on board.
The people from a small boat in Zeeland have been taken to a Marechaussee location in Hoogerheide, where screening and registration are starting. They went first to the town hall in Oostburg, after the KNRM sea rescue service and the Coast Guard (Kustwacht) towed the boat into the harbour at Cadzand.
In Hoogerheide, the Marechaussee said, "who are you, where do you come from? Your identity, nationality and status are looked into there." The screening also looks at who wants to apply for asylum, who already has an asylum procedure running in another country and who may be able to return to their country of origin.
The boat was spotted near Breskens at around 6:00 in the morning. The Marechaussee said it was decided at that point to launch a rescue operation.
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Marechaussee
The Royal Netherlands Military Constabulary is the military police force of the Netherlands, part of the Ministry of Defence. It carries out policing tasks for the armed forces and performs border control and border surveillance, including at airports, at the border and along the coast.
KNRM (Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij)
The Royal Dutch Lifeboat Institution is the Dutch sea rescue organisation, with lifeboat stations along the Dutch coast and the Wadden Sea. Its crews are largely volunteers, and it rescues people in distress at sea and on the coastal waters.