The four migrants who died trying to reach UK when their dinghy deflated in Channel have still not been identified, police reveal
- The inquests are due to open this Friday but they have been listed as ‘unknown’
- All of the migrants have been described as male but no ages were given
- A rescue operation was launched on December 14 after dinghy began to deflate
Four migrants who died trying to reach the UK when their dinghy deflated in the English Channel last week have still not been identified.
Inquests into the deaths of the four men are due to open this Friday but they have been listed as ‘unknown’.
All have been described as male but no ages were given, although one is thought to have been a teenager, according to reports.
The inquests are due to be opened in Maidstone, Kent, on Friday but it is expected they will then be adjourned pending an ongoing police investigation into the case.
Four migrants who died trying to reach the UK when their dinghy deflated in the English Channel last week have still not been identified
A lifejacket floating in the sea close to where the Channel tragedy is believed to have happened
A major international rescue operation was launched in the early hours of Wednesday, December 14, after a dinghy began to deflate between Lydd and Cap Gris-Nez.
British and French rescue vessels and helicopters headed to the scene, including Royal Navy patrol boats, Border Force boats and the RNLI, to find survivors.
The crew of a British fishing boat were able to pull 31 people to safety after they heard cries for help in the darkness.
A total of 401 migrants were picked up at sea on the same day, according to official figures.
Detectives launched an investigation into the incident last week.
Officers from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, assisted by the National Crime Agency, are involved in the operation.
A major international rescue operation was launched in the early hours of Wednesday, December 14
A Kent Police spokesperson said last week: ‘The circumstances surrounding the deaths of four people in the English Channel are being investigated by detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, assisted by the National Crime Agency.
‘Kent Police was called to Dover to assist HM Coastguard following a report received in the early hours of Wednesday 14 December 2022 of a small boat in distress in the water.
‘A multi-agency search and rescue operation was carried out, resulting in 39 people being safely brought to shore. Four other people have been pronounced deceased.
‘Officers are working to establish the identity of the deceased and locate the next of kin.’
Ibrahima Bah, 19, is due to appear at Canterbury Crown Court in Kent on January 16, 2023, charged with knowingly facilitating the attempted arrival in the UK of people he knew or had reasonable cause to believe were asylum seekers.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge when he appeared at Folkestone Magistrates Court, Kent, on Monday.
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