‘Small boat pilot’ charged after four migrants drowned in English Channel

The alleged pilot of a small boat has been charged after four migrants drowned while trying to cross the English Channel.

Sudanese national Alnour Mohamed Ali has been charged with endangering life after the deaths of two men and two women trying to board a small boat trying to cross the English Channel on Thursday, the National Crime Agency said.

The 27-year-old man is alleged to have been driving the boat from France to England.

Two men and two women died trying to climb into a so-called “taxi boat” in Equihen-Plage, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, on Thursday morning.

After the incident south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, near Calais, 38 people were sent back to the French coast, but 74 migrants went to the UK.

He will appear at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.