French Coast Guard Rescues Afghan Who Attempted To Sail To England On A Raft Made From 6 Planks & A Bedsheet

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French coast rescuers support a 23-year-old Afghan trying to cross the Channel on a makeshift raft using a bedsheet as a sail, on May 5, 2014 off Sangatte. The man, who had started developing hypothermia, "was first disappointed and then glad at being rescued," said Bernard Barron, the head of the coast rescue service in Calais.   AFP PHOTO / SNSM CALAIS-/AFP/Getty Images

The 23-year-old was soaked to the skin and suffering from hypothermia when he was picked up by coastguards after he was spotted drifting near to Sangatte. He told them that his ‘dream’ was to ‘travel to England to start a new life’ and would stop at nothing to get there. His desperate attempt comes as many of the hundreds massing in Calais to get to Britain increasingly put their lives in danger by plunging into the sea.