Three men have been arrested after the death of five people – including a seven-year-old girl – who were trying to cross the English Channel.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has said it supports the French investigation into the deaths.
The men arrested were two Sudanese nationals aged 22 and 19 and a South Sudanese national aged 19, said Craig Turner, deputy director of the NCA.
The suspects have been charged with facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally.
It comes as a seven-year-old girl, a woman and three men died during the attempt to cross the English Channel on April 23.
Immigrants arrive in Dover after being rescued
A further 55 people believed to have been on board the ship have also been identified and will continue to be questioned by police in the coming days.
“This tragic incident demonstrates the threat to life that these crossings pose and highlights why it is so important to target these criminal gangs involved in their organisation,” Turner said during a statement on Wednesday.
The April 23 incident occurred in Wimereux, northern France.
Sky News that said on tuesday that about 50 people who had paid for a place aboard the ship helped transport it along Wimereux beach in northern France before reaching port.
It was at that moment that another group of people emerged and made their way towards the ship, threatening those on board.
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This meant that there were a total of 112 people on the ship which was only intended to safely accommodate 20 people.
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According to the latest data from the UK government, a total of 402 migrants were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats on Tuesday alone.
From April 17 to 22, no crossings were detected.
The NCA announcement comes on the same day that the bodies of 19 people were recovered off the coast of Tunisia, near one of the main departure points for those seeking to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
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In a bid to discourage migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats, the UK government approved controversial Rwanda bill – which seeks to deport asylum seekers who arrive in the UK on small boats to the African nation.