National Police officers have arrested 19 people on suspicion of murders and torture on board a cayuco rescued on August 24. The vessel was adrift in waters off Gran Canaria and 248 migrants were in it, although one subsequently died in hospital. Several migrants who were travelling in it spoke of murders, wounding and torture committed during the crossing. The disappearance of at least 50 people thrown into the sea by the alleged people smugglers is also being investigated.
Two children are among three people who have died after an attempted small boat crossing in the English Channel, according to French media reports. Regional prosecutor Laurent Touvet announced at a news conference on Wednesday that the deadly incident had unfolded off the coast of Sangatte, in Pas-de-Calais, late on Tuesday night into the early hours of this morning. He said the three who died were likely crushed at the bottom of the boat that had been carrying 38 people across the English Channel.
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U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are set to sign a treaty on Thursday pledging to tighten defense ties and step up law-enforcement cooperation against gangs that smuggle migrants across the English Channel.