Man appears in court after deaths of four migrants trying to cross channel

A man appeared in court on Saturday after four migrants drowned trying to cross the English Channel.

Alnour Mohamed Ali, a Sudanese national, wascharged with endangering life after the four people died while trying to board a water taxi off the coast of Saint Etienne au Mont, near Calais.

Ali, 27, who is alleged to have piloted the boat from France to the UK, appeared at Folkestone Magistrates Court and, through an interpreter, indicated a not guilty plea. He was remanded in custody and will appear at Canterbury Crown Court on 11 May.

The identities of those who died have not been released. French prosecutors are investigating the circumstances that led to the launch of the boat.

Thirty-eight people were returned to the French shore, but 74 "sailed on to the UK," the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.

Investigators are in the process of interviewing those who made the journey.

Rescue efforts began on Thursday at around 07:30 local time (06:30 BST), following the incident south of Boulogne-sur-Mer in Pas-de-Calais.

French government official Francois-Xavier Lauch said at the time that the four who died were "already quite far into the sea".

"The currents, which can be dangerous here, swept them away," he added.

The UK's migration minister Mike Tapp described every death in the Channel as a "tragedy".

"Through our Border Security Act, officers now have stronger powers to act earlier and disrupt, intercept and take down the operations of criminal smuggling gangs who bring illegal migrants to our shores," he said in a statement.

The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 introduced a new criminal offence of endangering another during a journey by sea to the UK from France, Belgium or the Netherlands.

In January, an Afghan national who cannot be named for legal reasons, became the first person to be charged under the offence.

More than 5,000 people have crossed the English Channel by small boat from France since the start of the year, Home Office data shows.

Correction 12.4.26: A previous version of this story named the first person charged with endangering others during a sea crossing. This has been removed because he cannot be named for legal reasons.