South Sudanese national jailed for piloting 'mega dinghy' carrying HUNDREDS of illegal migrants across Channel
A South Sudanese national has been jailed for piloting a small boat carrying hundreds of illegal migrants across the Channel.
Chan Atak, 19, was jailed at Canterbury Crown Court for two years and three months after piloting the boat across the English Channel.
The vessel carried 165 people.
The teenage asylum seeker piloted the overcrowded, deflating 14-metre-long dinghy across the waterway.
This was a record-high number of passengers on a boat for a Channel crossing when the craft made the journey carrying men, women and 31 children, the youngest aged 14, on July 23.
The dinghy had two outboard engines, but one wasn't working.
Tubing on the boat had started to deflate, the court heard.
Aerial footage shows one person “constantly pumping” to try to re-inflate the rigid-hulled inflatable boat.
Atak was also picked up on aerial footage operating the boat for 90 minutes, wearing a black jacket with an "Italia" logo.
But then Atak crouched down among other passengers and took off his jacket "to avoid detection as the helmsman", prosecutor James Harrison said.
Atak pleaded guilty to the single offence in August at the same court.
The teenager, aided by an Arabic interpreter, wore a t-shirt and a large white rosary around his neck at the hearing on Friday.
It was the second day running that criminal gangs launched a larger migrant boat, as they cramed ever greater numbers on board and try to avoid police patrols further north along the French coast.
The French lifeboat service was alerted just before 6.30am on the day as the dinghy headed out to sea.
A spokesman said for the service released a statement at the time.
It read: "The situation is alarming, unique, and exceptional. Around 150 people are on board, and one of the floats is leaking. Despite this, the vessel continues on its way.
"The vessel is already well out to sea. We are astonished by the number of people on board this inflatable boat.
"The crew is constantly trying to inflate the side float, while taking in significant amounts of water."
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