Sudanese man charged after four people died trying to cross English Channel

A Sudanese man has been charged after four people died trying to cross the English Channel.

The victims - two men and two women - had attempted to board an inflatable dinghy on Thursday morning at Equihen-Plage, south of Boulogne-sur-mer, near Calais, but were swept away by strong currents at around 7am local time, according to French authorities.

Alnour Mohamed Ali, 27, was charged with endangering another during a journey by sea to the UK, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said in a statement.

Ali allegedly piloted the boat from France to Britain.

He appeared at Folkestone Magistrates' Court on Saturday and indicated a not guilty plea.

Ali was remanded into custody and will appear at Canterbury Crown Court on 11 May.

The NCA said 38 people were returned to the French shore after the incident, but 74 migrants travelled on to the UK.

The latest fatalities came less than two weeks after two migrants died off the coast of France during an attempt to cross the Channel, one of the world's ​busiest shipping lanes.

In the ‌past year, traffickers have taken to dinghies along stretches of ‌the northern French and Belgian coasts, picking migrants up along the shore. Authorities refer to them as "taxi-boats".

Francois-Xavier Lauch, an official for Pas-de-Calais, said on Thursday that "the people who died were attempting to board a taxi-boat".

"They were already quite far into the sea," he said. "The currents, which can be dangerous here, swept them away."

The UK government last month signed an extension with France over current arrangements on beach patrols as part of efforts to reduce the number of Channel crossings.

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Mike Tapp, minister for migration and citizenship, said: "Every death in the Channel is a tragedy. Our experienced law enforcement teams will continue working relentlessly with international partners to prevent these perilous journeys and bring those responsible to justice.

"Through our Border Security Act, officers now have stronger powers to act earlier and disrupt, intercept and take down the operations of criminal smuggling gangs who bring illegal migrants to our shores."

More than 5,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year, according to Home Office data.

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