French authorities charged and jailed on Sunday a suspected Syrian smuggler as part of an investigation into a boat incident in the English Channel in the past week that killed a migrant.
Mehdi Benbouzid, the public prosecutor of Saint-Omer commune, said the man was charged with manslaughter, unintentional injury, deliberate endangerment and aiding illegal entry and residence.
The boat capsized off the nearby commune of Gravelines and led to the death of one migrant. Meanwhile, the regional maritime authority said that two passengers were missing.
The boat was carrying 60 migrants, including children.
From the beginning of 2023 until late November, more than 28,000 people crossed the Channel, according to British government statistics.
The suspect who is reportedly from “Syrian Kurdistan” has denied the charges. Moreover, French authorities are pursuing another man suspected of also piloting the boat.
