Teenager pleads guilty to endangering migrants in English Channel crossing

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Chan Mathok Atak, 19, has pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court to endangering others during a July 23 English Channel crossing.
He piloted a deflating dinghy carrying 165 migrants, a record number for a single vessel at the time.

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The incident involved a dinghy carrying 165 migrants across the English Channel on July 23, which began deflating mid-crossing.

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A teenager who piloted a dinghy carrying a then-record 165 migrants across the English Channel to the UK has pleaded guilty to endangering others during a sea crossing.

Chan Mathok Atak, 19, originally from South Sudan, admitted the offence at Canterbury Crown Court in relation to a crossing on 23 July.

Rescuers said they were astonished and alarmed to see the number of people packed onto the dinghy.

It was said to have been about the same length as a bus before it began deflating in the world's busiest shipping lane.