UK crime agency charges Sudanese man after four die in Channel boat crossing

Britain’s National Crime Agency said on Saturday it had charged a 27-year-old ​Sudanese man with endangering life after four ‌migrants died while attempting to cross the Channel from France to Britain on a small boat ​this week.

The NCA, which investigates organised crime, ​said it charged Alnour Mohamed Ali, who ⁠was arrested on Friday, “with endangering another during a ​journey by sea” to Britain.

The incident occurred ​on Thursday off the coast of Saint-Etienne-au-Mont, near Calais in northern France.

The four victims, two women and two ​men whose identities have not yet been ​released, died when they tried to board a water ‌taxi ⁠which smugglers are increasingly using to avoid police, the NCA said.

It said 38 people were returned to the French shore after the ​incident, but ​74 migrants ⁠travelled to Britain.

Ali, who allegedly piloted the boat, is due to ​appear at Folkestone Magistrates Court on ​Saturday, ⁠the NCA added.

The numbers of people crossing the Channel to seek asylum in Britain have made ⁠illegal ​immigration a hot issue ​for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his predecessors in Downing ​Street.