He tried to cross the English Channel in this...
His raft was so flimsy he would probably have been killed – and the wind was in the wrong direction, blowing him up the coast rather than across the Channel.
It was a miracle he made it out to sea at all.
Yet this young Afghan migrant had hoped to cross the Channel on a raft made of a few nailed-together bits of plank, with a bedsheet held by tent poles for a sail.
His desperate attempt reach Britain almost ended in disaster as his makeshift craft was blown into the path of a P&O passenger ferry near Calais. Fortunately the crew of the Spirit of Britain spotted the 23-year-old.
When rescued from the world’s busiest shipping lane, he was drenched and suffering from hypothermia, according to the Mail Online.
He told French coastguards his dream was to ‘travel to England to start a new life’ and he would stop at nothing to get here.
Coastguard chief Bernard Barron said the young migrant, spotted drifting off Sangatte on Monday at 2pm, would never have made it to the UK.
Could have died
‘He was upset at being caught to begin with, but was then very happy to be safe,’ said Mr Barron. ‘If the wind had risen, or the raft had collided with a ferry, then he would have capsized and died.’
The man, who had no documents and refused to give his name, received medical treatment before being handed over to French border police.
Sources: Mail Online, AFP
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now