Teenager charged in connection with migrant boat deaths off Dover coast

A teenager has been charged with assisting attempted illegal entry into the country, via Kent, in which four people died.

The Royal Navy, French navy, Coastguard and RNLI lifeboats were all involved in a major rescue operation off the Kent coast in the early hours of Wednesday morning when a small boat got into difficulty in the water.

A multi-agency search and rescue operation was carried out and 39 people were safely brought to shore. Four other people were pronounced dead.

The circumstances surrounding the deaths are being investigated by detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, assisted by the National Crime Agency.

On Friday 16 December, a man was arrested in connection with incident.

The CPS has authorised a charge against Ibrahima Bah of knowingly facilitating the attempted arrival in the United Kingdom of people he knew or had reasonable cause to believe were asylum seekers.

The 19-year-old, of no fixed address, is remanded in custody and will appear before Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on Monday 19 December.

Officers are continuing to work to establish the identity of the deceased and locate the next of kin.