British Special Forces are poised to go to Calais to help French police track down the crime gangs sending migrants across the Channel. At least 27 migrants downed in the deadliest-ever Channel crossing earlier this week, with the disaster coming just hours after French police sat and watched boats leave their shore.
Four alleged people smugglers thought to be connected with the disaster were arrested by police north of Dunkirk, near the France-Belgian border, on Wednesday evening after tragedy struck shortly around 2pm. At least 27 migrants downed in the deadliest-ever Channel crossing earlier this week Pictured - Dover.
The only two survivors of the horror β an Iraqi and a Somalian β have reportedly told French police the dinghy was hit by a container ship that punctured its thin rubber hull and sank the vessel. It is believed that smugglers in makeshift camps are continuing to offer trips across the Channel, despite the latest incident.
This morning, police officers have been photographed evicting migrants from a camp in Calais following talks between regional officials in France. Earlier this week Boris Johnson made a renewed offer of hundreds of British 'boots on the ground' to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
Mr Johnson told reporters on Wesnesday: 'This disaster underscores how dangerous it is to cross the channel in this way, and it also shows how vital it is that we step up our efforts to break the business model of the gangsters who are sending people to sea in this way.
