Boat on which at least eight died in Channel was ‘wholly unsuitable’

Forensic tents erected at an RNLI station in Dover after the incident in the Channel on 14 December 2022. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

An investigation into the sinking of a migrant boat in the Channel that claimed at least eight lives in December 2022 has found that the dinghy was “wholly unsuitable and ill-equipped” for its hazardous journey and even more poorly constructed than other similar vessels making the crossing.

Of those who died, at least four bodies were never recovered and three of the four that were recovered have not yet been formally identified. The body that was identified has been returned to his family.