Royal Navy coastguards, operating in the Mediterranean, assisted 202 illegal migrants, most of them sub-Saharan, including women and children, in precarious boats, on 22 and 23 December 2018. According to military sources, five corpses were also found in these boats.
Rescuers, who were in poor health, received the necessary first aid on board Royal Navy units before being transported to the ports of Nador, Tangier and Al Hoceima.