Achi news desk-
They were arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally.
The 55 surviving boat passengers have already been interviewed and are expected to speak to them further in the coming days.
Craig Turner, deputy director of investigations at the National Crime Agency, said: “This tragic incident once again demonstrates the threat to life posed by these crossings and highlights why it is so important to target the criminal gangs that involved in organizing them.
“We will do everything we can with partners in the UK and France to secure evidence, identify those responsible for this incident, and bring them to justice.”
More than 400 migrants arrived in the UK on the day the group died.
The crossings happened as the tragedy off the coast of northern France unfolded, a few hours after Parliament passed legislation aimed at getting the Government’s plan to give asylum seekers a one-way ticket to Rwanda off the ground.
A dinghy carrying more than 100 people set off from Wimereux at around 6am on Tuesday but ran into difficulties.
Three men, a woman and a girl died, according to the coast guard in France.
Around 49 people were rescued but a further 58 refused to leave the boat and continue their journey towards the UK, the coastguard said in a statement, with several other boats embarking on the crossing later.
Home Office figures show that 402 people made the journey in seven boats on the same day after an eight-day break in Channel activity, suggesting an average of around 57 people per boat.
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Young children and babies were among those seen being taken ashore in Dover, Kent, while witnesses saw crews taking someone on a stretcher from a lifeboat to an ambulance.
The latest crossings take the provisional total for the year to date to 6,667 – 20% higher than this time last year (5,546) but slightly lower (down 0.4%) than the figure currently recorded in 2022 (6,691).
Around 29,437 people made the journey in 2023, a 36% drop on the record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.
Campaigners said the Rwanda plan will not save lives as they mourned the news of more deaths due to the treacherous journey calling on the Channel not to become a children’s graveyard.
But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the incident underlines the need for the deterrent the Government hopes will mean sending migrants to the east African nation if they arrive in the UK illegally.
The National Crime Agency said it will support the French investigation into the deaths with UK police and the Border Force.
