Two men charged over migrant crossing deaths

A seven-year-old girl, a woman and three men died in the incident off the coast of Wimereux in northern France.

Friday 26 April 2024 11:23, UK

Two men have been charged in connection with the small boats crossing that led to the deaths of five people on a beach in France.

A seven-year-old girl, a woman and three men died in the incident off the coast of Wimereux in northern France.

Both men have been charged with immigration offences as part of an investigation into the deaths of the migrants, who died trying to cross the English Channel, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

Yien Both, a 22-year-old from South Sudan, has been charged with assisting unlawful immigration and attempting to arrive in the UK without valid entry clearance.

Tajdeen Adbulaziz Juma, a 22-year-old Sudanese national, has been charged with attempting to arrive in the UK without valid entry clearance.

The pair have been remanded in custody and are expected to appear before Folkestone Magistrates later today.

A third man, an 18-year-old from Sudan, was also arrested over the incident and has been bailed pending further enquiries.

A dinghy carrying more than 100 people set off from the French coastal town of Wimereux at around 6am on Tuesday but got into difficulty.

The boat, which launched with 112 people on board, stopped on a sandbar only a few hundred metres from the shore.

Around 49 people were rescued - but 58 others refused to leave the boat and continued their journey towards the UK, the coastguard said in a statement.

The NCA is working with Kent Police, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force to support the French-led investigation into the incident.