Four men have been remanded in custody in connection with the death of six Afghan migrants on an overcrowded dinghy, which sank while trying to cross the Channel last weekend.
Two Iraqis, thought to be Kurdish and both born in 1980, are suspected of belonging to the smuggling network that organised the crossing, which got into trouble in the early hours of Saturday, according to Paris prosecutors.
The other two suspects, who are Sudanese men born in 1994 and 2006, are alleged to have “actively participated in the transportation of the passengers in dangerous conditions in return for a lower fee for their own crossing”.
The smuggling networks regularly use migrants as operatives. They are tasked with directing other migrants to the beach from which the dinghy will leave, and sometimes with piloting the boat, even if they have little or no experience as seafarers.
The four men have been placed under investigation for a string of offences including alleged aggravated manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The boat which left the northern French coast was carrying 65 or 66 passengers — those on board were unsure of the exact figure. The dinghy was not designed for so many people, officials said.
Most of those on board were Afghans, although some were Sudanese. There were children among the passengers, prosecutors said. Six Afghans died and one is feared to be missing after the boat sank about 20 kilometres off the coast of Sangatte, near Calais. A total of 36 passengers were rescued and brought ashore in France and 23 in Britain.
Prosecutors said only a minority of passengers had lifejackets. They said the engine had broken down in mid-Channel, causing panic among those on board, which led the dinghy to “rip” open.
An Afghan migrant who had talked to two men on board said one side of the dinghy had deflated, causing the passengers to cling to the other side as they waited for help. He said none of the six victims had lifejackets.
Despite the deaths, migrants have continued to cross the Channel this week, with about 450 arriving in UK waters on Wednesday, bringing the total number this year to more than 17,000.
However, this represents a fall by comparison with the same period last year, when more than 20,000 migrants made the crossing.
