Four people were charged this Wednesday with involuntary manslaughter in France, after at least six people of Afghan nationality died in the sinking of a migrant boat in the English Channel on Saturday, a judicial source confirmed to AFP.
According to information also provided by the French newspaper Le Monde, the four people accused of involuntary manslaughter have been in police custody since Saturday, and the Paris Prosecutor’s Office has requested preventive detention.
The boat sank when trying to reach the United Kingdom and was sighted early Saturday morning by the Cormoran patrol boat, a French public service, which began the rescue operation.
According to the authorities, around 50 people were rescued and searches are continuing off Sangatte, using French and British boats and a helicopter.
More than 100,000 irregular immigrants have crossed the English Channel, which connects France with the United Kingdom, in small boats since 2018, according to official data from the British Government.
Crossings of the English Channel in small boats, mainly from France, began to be counted in 2018, after the adoption of measures that intensified the inspection of trucks as they pass through the French port of Calais and the Eurotunnel terminal.
Stricter rules forced smugglers to opt for the sea route, with migrants paying large sums to these organized networks to make the dangerous journey.
The English Channel is regularly the scene of overcrowded small boats.
Source: TSF
