Africa News of Thursday, 25 April 2024

Source: bbc.com

East African trio arrested after migrants die on boat

The men were detained on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration The men were detained on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration

Two Sudanese nationals and a South Sudanese citizen have been arrested by police in the UK after five migrants died in the English Channel.

The men were detained on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally.

Five people, including a seven-year-old girl, were killed in a crush on board a boat crossing the Channel.

The boat was carrying 112 people at the time of the tragedy.

Speaking after the arrest, National Crime Agency (NCA) Director of Investigations Craig Turner said: "This tragic incident once again demonstrates the threat to life posed by these crossings and brings into focus why it is so important to target the criminal gangs involved in organising them."

Officers have already conducted initial interviews with the men, who are aged 19 and 22.

Further interrogations will follow in the coming days.