Three individuals have been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences following a tragic incident in which five migrants, including a four-year-old girl, lost their lives while attempting to cross the English Channel. The arrests come as authorities investigate the circumstances surrounding the fatal journey that ended in disaster off the northern French coast.
The National Crime Agency announced that two men from Sudan, aged 19 and 22, and a 22-year-old suspect from South Sudan are currently in custody, facing questioning over their alleged roles in facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally.
The harrowing incident unfolded when a severely overcrowded small boat, carrying 112 people, ran aground off the coast of Wimereux, near Boulogne-sur-Mer. As panic ensued and passengers stood up, the boat became unbalanced and capsized, plunging dozens, including women and children, into the cold waters of the Channel.
