Man arrested after four die attempting Channel crossing

A 27-year-old Sudanese man was arrested on suspicion of endangering life after four migrants died trying to cross the English Channel in a small boat.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed the arrest of the man at the Manston processing centre in Kent, southern England.

The suspect remains in police custody and is being interviewed by officers.

The four victims, two men and two women, were swept away by strong currents while attempting to board a dinghy off the coast of Saint-Etienne-au-Mont, near Calais in northern France.

The boat was described as a "taxi-boat," which picks up migrants along the coastline.

This incident highlights the ongoing dangers faced by migrants attempting to cross the Channel and the challenges authorities face in preventing such perilous journeys.

The NCA stated that 74 people made the journey, with 38 returned to France.

An investigation led by French prosecutors is ongoing into the circumstances of the boat's launch and the deaths.

Craig Turner, deputy director of the NCA, said the agency is working with colleagues domestically and internationally to identify and bring to justice those responsible for the deaths.

Mike Tapp, the UK minister for migration and citizenship, described every death in the Channel as a tragedy and emphasized that law enforcement teams will continue efforts to prevent dangerous crossings and dismantle smuggling operations.

He noted that the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act has strengthened officers' powers to act earlier against criminal gangs facilitating illegal migration.

Human rights organisations have condemned UK and French policies that have led to the increased use of dangerous taxi-boats by smugglers, which require migrants to wade into the sea to board.

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