Bear Grylls wannabe rescued by French Cost Guard

The famous British survivor expert can really inspire people, but the latest example is a “not to do” one. French coast guard rescued a 23 year old Afghan man on a makeshift raft with a bedsheet as a sail.

The Channel between UK and France is one of the busiest routes in the world and especially in Calais, where most of the small medium and large commercial ships from UK arrive. So, when the French coast guard was tipped over a man on a raft, a deployed unit had to intervene. However, the rescuers could not believe their eyes when they actually met the man on the raft.

The 23 year old Afghan man was on a makeshift raft. Most probably he made the raft using parts of an old table. The mast was made up by an old table leg and the sail was a white bedsheet.

“It's very rare that rescuers intervene at sea to pick up migrants. The man was first disappointed to see us, but them he was glad to be rescued,” said Bernard Barron, head of French Cost Guard in Calais. When authorities picked him up he was already under the effects of early hypothermia.

According to official figures there are about 400 similar cases every year of immigrants trying to cross the Channel illegally to Britain. The cost of a one way ticket of crossing the Channel is between 30 and 40 euros.