Two men arrested in the United Kingdom after the death of a little girl in Pas-de-Calais during an attempt to cross the Channel

Two men wanted by the police in France have been arrested in the United Kingdom, announced in a press release on Monday the NCA, the National Crime Agency, the British agency fighting organized crime, reported Tuesday June 4 France Bleu Nord. These two men, two Sudanese, were wanted after the death of a little girl in Wimereux (Pas-de-Calais) during an attempt to cross the Channel from the French coast in April. The child died after getting on a small boat. The boat continued on its way despite everything.

The two men arrested are aged 19 and 24. They were arrested on Thursday May 30 in the Hillingdon area of ​​London. They are currently detained in the United Kingdom. They were wanted by the French authorities because they were suspected of having played a role in the child’s death. In its statement, the National Crime Agency said the two men appeared before magistrates as extradition proceedings began. They were placed in detention until their next appearance on June 7. Craig Turner, deputy director of investigations at the National Crime Agency, said in this press release: “We said at the time of this tragic incident that we were determined to do everything in our power to identify those responsible for this event and to bring them to justice, that remains the case.”

On April 23, at least five migrants, a 7-year-old girl, three women and a man died off the coast of Wimereux. They were on an inflatable carrying 112 people, from “never seen”, according to the prefect of Pas-de-Calais. Around 6 a.m., when the boat had left a beach north of Wimereux and had just passed a sandbank, its engine had stopped and the inflatable had drifted away. Emergency services brought six people back to Wimereux, including five who were inanimate and did not survive. 48 other migrants were rescued and taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer.