Two men arrested after dinghy with 36 people rescued in Zeeland

Border police have arrested two Sudanese men on suspicion of human trafficking after a rubber dinghy containing 38 people was brought ashore on the Dutch coast.

Rescue services were called out to a “suspicious situation” off Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, which borders Belgium, on Saturday morning. They found the boat adrift without a motor near the harbour of Cadzand.

Police said they found jerrycans full of fuel on board, suggesting the motor may have been lost at sea. A spokesman said the rescue operation was carried out to “save people from a distressing situation”.

Media reports said the boat contained 36 migrants, but the Marechaussee, the Dutch border police force, said their identities were under investigation.

One person on board claimed asylum and six were minors. All those on board were taken to the asylum reception centre in Ter Apel, Groningen, later in the day after being checked over by ambulance staff and questioned as witnesses.

Refugee charities said the episode underlined the need to create safe migration routes in Europe. Small boat crossings from the Netherlands are rare, but thousands of people try to reach the UK by sea from France and Belgium every year.

Sofie Croonenberg, an adviser on forced migration at Stichting Vluchteling, told AD.nl: “Human traffickers play a role in this, but the solution lies in expanding safe ways to request asylum in Europe.”