Three held after five die in Channel tragedy

LONDON: Three people have been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences after five migrants including a child died while trying to cross the Channel.

The National Crime Agency said investigators are questioning two men from Sudan, aged 19 and 22, and a third 22-year-old suspect from south Sudan over the tragedy.They were arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally. The 55 surviving boat passengers have already been interviewed and are expected to be spoken to further in the coming days.

Craig Turner, deputy director of investigations for the National Crime Agency, 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.

“We will do all we can with partners in the UK and France to secure evidence, identify those responsible for this event, and bring them to justice.”More than 400 migrants arrived in the UK on the day the group died.

The crossings took place as the tragedy off the coast of northern France unfolded, just hours after Parliament passed legislation aimed at getting the Government’s plan to give asylum seekers a one-way ticket to Rwanda off the ground. A dinghy carrying more than 100 people set off from Wimereux at around 6am on Tuesday but got into difficulty.