Two men charged with immigration offences after five people die in Channel crossing

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, by the Border Force following a small boat incident in the Channel. Picture date: Tuesday April 23, 2024.
A group of migrants being brought to shore by a UK Border Force boat. Credit: PA

Two men have been charged with immigration offences in connection with the investigation into the deaths of five migrants, including a child, who were trying to cross the English Channel. 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. Both men have been remanded in custody and are due to appear at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

The National Crime Agency is working with Kent Police, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force to support the French-led investigation into the incident on the beach near Wimereux in northern France on Tuesday. An 18-year-old man from Sudan has also been arrested over the incident and has been bailed pending further inquiries. A dinghy carrying more than 100 people set off from Wimereux at around 6am on Tuesday but got into difficulty. Three men, a woman and a girl died, according to the French coastguard. Some 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, with several other boats later embarking on the crossing.

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