Teen pleads guilty over Channel boat with 165 migrants

Chan Mathok Atak, a 19-year-old teenager from South Sudan, pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court for endangering others on a dinghy carrying 165 migrants across the English Channel. The crossing occurred on July 23. When the dinghy was discovered by rescuers, it was packed with a number of people that astonished and alarmed them.

The boat, about the length of a bus, was reported to be in the world's busiest shipping lane before it began deflating. Prosecutors stated that Atak created a risk of death or serious injury to those aboard the boat. Endangerment at sea is a new offence targeting those allegedly steering small boats over the Channel. This dinghy set a record for the largest number of migrants transported in a single boat since arrivals began on the south coast in recent years. However, this record has since been broken, with a recent crossing carrying 230 people to the UK.