a man taken into custody after the death of a migrant during an attempted crossing

The body of the migrant was found on a beach in Sangatte (Pas-de-Calais) on December 15. An investigation was opened for involuntary manslaughter and aiding illegal aliens in an organized gang.

A man was taken into police custody as part of the investigation into the death of a migrant after an aborted attempt to cross the Channel, said the Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais) public prosecutor’s office , Saturday December 16. An investigation was opened for involuntary manslaughter and aiding illegal aliens in an organized gang, the prosecution said.

“A 33-year-old man of Iraqi nationality was placed in police custody, both for his attitude of inciting violence against the police during their intervention and because of indications suggesting a role of smuggler”indicated the public prosecutor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Guirec Le Bras. “A group of 70 migrants went to sea with a ‘small boat’, but the boat returned to the beach” around 7 a.m. for an unknown reason, according to the prosecutor’s account.

The dead migrant was found on a beach in Sangatte (Pas-de-Calais) on Friday. An autopsy is planned to try to identify the causes of his death.

More than 160 people rescued Friday

Another migrant trying to reach England died in the night from Thursday to Friday off Gravelines (North), in the sinking of the inflatable boat on which he had boarded. According to the report communicated Friday by the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea (Prémar), 62 people were rescued during this shipwreck, including the dead migrant, and “two people are apparently missing”.

A man suspected of being one of the two pilots of the boat is still in police custody on Saturday, according to the Saint-Omer public prosecutor, responsible for this shipwreck. On Friday, 166 people were rescued at sea during attempted crossings and other rescue operations are taking place on Saturday, Prémar said.