Two 22-year-old men have been charged with immigration offences as part of an investigation into the deaths of five migrants, including a child, who died trying to cross the English Channel.
Yien Both, from South Sudan, has been charged with assisting unlawful immigration and attempting to arrive in the UK without valid entry clearance, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Friday.
Tajdeen Abdulaziz Juma, a Sudanese national, has been charged with attempting to arrive in the UK without valid entry clearance.
Both men were remanded in custody and were expected to appear before Folkestone Magistrates’ Court later on Friday.
A third man, an 18-year-old from Sudan, has been bailed pending further inquiries, said the NCA.
A dinghy carrying more than 100 people set off from Wimereux at around 6am on Tuesday (April 23) but got into difficulty.
Three men, a woman and a girl believed to be four years old 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.
The incident reportedly took place as rival migrant groups all tried to scramble into the boat, causing it to become heavily overcrowded.
The tragedy unfolded just hours after Parliament passed legislation aimed at getting the Government’s plan to give asylum seekers a one-way ticket to Rwanda off the ground. The bill - a key part of Rishi Sunak’s plan to “stop the boats” has now become law following a long-running tussle in the House of Lords.
