The teenager has been charged with piloting a 13-metre dinghy packed with migrants between France and England.
The dinghy was estimated to be around the size of a standard bus (Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
A Sudanese teenager has been charged with piloting a mega dinghy carrying a record 165 migrants across the Channel. Chan Mathok Atak, 19, will face charges of endangering another during a journey between France and the UK at Margate Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Atak, from South Sudan, was remanded in custody. The number of people onboard the vessel broke the previous record set in July when 128 people crossed from France in one boat.
Border Security Command was pictured towing the boat when it arrived in Dover on Thursday afternoon, estimated to be around 13 metres long, the same length as a standard bus.
Border Security Command towed the boat when it arrived at Dover on Thursday (Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
Home Office figures show that 366 people arrived after crossing in three boats on Thursday as they took advantage of warm, sunny weather and calm sea conditions.
The UK Coastguard confirmed that Border Force vessels, along with a UK Coastguard aeroplane and the RNLI Dungeness lifeboat, responded to “small boats activity” in the Channel on Thursday morning.
Around 172 people made the journey in three boats on Wednesday, bringing to an end an 11-day hiatus linked to wind sweeping the Channel.
The crossings mid-last week mark the first since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister.
Analysis of Government data by the Press Association shows that 77,183 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel during Sir Keir Starmer‘s premiership, beginning in July 2024.
Figures show that 13,007 arrivals have been recorded so far this year, marking a 45% drop on the same period last year and down 18% on the first half of 2024.