Police are investigating the deaths of four people after a small boat capsized in the Channel, saying they are determined that those who facilitated the crossing face justice.
Kent police said they were looking into the circumstances surrounding Wednesday’s incident with the support of the National Crime Agency (NCA).
A teenager was among the four who died, while another 39 people, including eight unaccompanied children, were rescued at about 3am, most of them being pulled out of the cold water. Kent police said they were working to establish the identity of those who died and to locate their next of kin.
Rescuers from fishing boats who were first on the scene said they were told that people had paid £5,000 for a place on the dinghy, with those onboard having come from Afghanistan, Iraq, Senegal and India.
The UK home secretary, Suella Braverman, and her French counterpart, Gérald Darmanin, released a joint statement describing the incident as “a stark reminder of the urgent need to destroy the business model of people-smugglers” who charge large sums to facilitate the crossing.
Graeme Biggar, the NCA director general, said: “A full investigation is now under way into the circumstances around these deaths, which is led by Kent police. I have offered them the full support and resources of the NCA, including our network of liaison officers in France who are already engaged with French partners.
“This incident, tragically, highlights the dangers of these crossings, a high percentage of which are facilitated by organised criminal networks. They treat people as a commodity to be profited from and think nothing of putting them in incredibly dangerous situations.
“Working with our partners on both sides of the Channel we are determined to find those responsible and bring them to justice.”
On Friday, UK government officials said 50 people had been rescued from a another boat on Wednesday.
They said Border Force officers rescued those onboard, five of whom had ended up in the freezing water, after the vessel had started to sink.
Earlier this week, Rishi Sunak announced more funding for the NCA – Britain’s version of the FBI – to tackle organised immigration crime in Europe.
More than 40,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year to try to reach the UK, usually paying several hundred or a few thousand pounds for the dangerous crossing, which can take five hours or more.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is reviewing evidence of the incident to decide whether an inquiry should be launched.
The NCA has been investigating the deaths of at least 27 people who drowned while trying to cross the Channel in November last year. Last month, it arrested Harem Ahmed Abwbaker, 32, at an address in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
He is alleged to be one of two main figures in an organised criminal gang thought to be connected to the crossing. The NCA said he would face charges of the “French equivalent of manslaughter” and facilitating illegal immigration.
Abwbaker told Westminster magistrates court he did not consent to his extradition to France. The court heard that those who crossed the Channel in the dinghy that deflated and capsized had paid smugglers $3,200 (£2,626) to cross.
Refugee charities have said many people claiming asylum are forced to travel by small boat because safe and legal routes, which allow people to reach the UK and then apply, are not available to the vast majority of them.
