Teen survivor of capsized migrant craft tells Canterbury court passengers were praying as it sank

A teenager who survived when the migrant craft he was on capsized has told Canterbury Crown Court that fellow passengers became trapped as the boat started sinking.

The 17-year-old witness told jurors that the boat started folding as it sank, trapping people, while others ended up in the sea.

He said one man was praying because he believed he was going to die.

The witness also claimed their cries for help were ignored by French fishermen: "We were screaming and shouting saying we were going down," he told the jury.

He said the fishermen were "looking at us and letting us die."

The statements were made in the trial of the man piloting the vessel.

19-year-old Ibrahim Bah, an African National, is accused of the manslaughter of four passengers of the boat who died when it sank.

The home-made inflatable boat was carrying 43 migrants across the Channel on the night of 14 December last year when it sank.

Four people died and 39 others were rescued by a British fishing boat.

Prosecutors say Mr Bah agreed to steer the vessel to England in return for free passage from the criminal gang smuggling his fellow travellers from France.

They argue the 19-year-old continued to pilot the craft onwards, even as it disintegrated, thus contributing to the four deaths.

Earlier in the trial, jurors heard the inflatable craft didn't have enough lifejackets and there was no safety equipment such as flares or a radio aboard.

Ibrahima Bah was navigating at night in December, without lights, guided only by a mobile phone.

In court today, asked about the defendant who was piloting the craft, the witness said: "The guy at the engine was trying to reassure us; saying don't panic, stay calm."

The prosecution say in in taking on the role of pilot, Mr Bah had a duty of law to protect his passengers.

Ibrahim Bah denies all the charges. The trial continues.