South Sudanese teenager denies piloting 'mega dinghy' with 167 people on board across the Channel

By PERKIN AMALARAJ, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 18:21, 27 July 2026 | Updated: 18:22, 27 July 2026 A South Sudanese teenager has denied piloting a 'mega dinghy' with 167 people on board across the English Channel.  Chan Mathok Atak is charged with endangering another during a journey by sea to the UK after a crossing on Thursday. The 19-year-old appeared at Margate Magistrates' Court on Monday for a short hearing, aided by an Arabic interpreter. Prosecutor Lucie Fish told the court on July 23 a 42-ft rigid hulled inflatable boat departed the French coast headed towards Dover carrying 167 migrants. The crossing broke the previous record for the number of people crossing in a single vessel, which was set earlier this month when 128 made the crossing in one boat.  July 23 saw a total of 172 people cross that day, breaking an 11-day hiatus caused by poor weather conditions on the Channel.  The mega dinghy was intercepted by Border Force and Atak is alleged as one of two pilots controlling the speed and travel of the boat, she told the court. The French lifeboat service had earlier called it 'alarming, unique and exceptional.' A Border Security Command vessel tows a boat used by a group of people thought to be migrants into the Border Security Command in Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel on July 23, 2026  The RNLI added: 'We are astonished by the number of people on board.' The boat was poor quality, overcrowded and 'appeared to be deflating upon interception', the prosecutor added. When asked if he wanted to enter a plea to the charge, Atak told the court: 'I wasn't the pilot.' District Judge William Nelson remanded the defendant into custody to next appear at Canterbury Crown Court on August 24. Refugee charity Care4Calais said the crossing route was becoming 'more and more dangerous' because of the increasing number of people in each boat. But despite this, hundreds more small boat migrants arrived during Andy Burnham's first week as PM than the first seven days of Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership, it emerged this week.   240 migrants arrived in Kent after illegally crossing the Channel this weekend, meaning at least 881 have arrived during Mr Burnham’s first seven days as PM. By contrast, in the seven days from July 5, 2024, which was Sir Keir’s first day in the job, there were 546 arrivals. His record is also much worse than former Tory PM Boris Johnson, with just 35 arrivals during his first seven days in the job in July 2019. It piled pressure on Mr Burnham to break his silence over immigration and get a grip, having failed to once mention what his plans are during several public appearances. This is despite the issue topping voters’ concerns in repeated polls. Migrants scramble on board an inflatable boat off the beach at Dunkirk, before attempting to cross the English Channel on Saturday  These were among 240 migrants thought to have made it to Britain on Saturday by small boat after launching off the coast of Dunkirk  He has so far talked about unfunded commitments to lower household energy bills, cap bus fares and unveiled his No10 North building – branded a ‘gimmick’ by critics. He is also planning speeches next week on overhauling the social care system, youth unemployment and devolving more power away from Westminster to regions. But the public remains in the dark about his plans to secure Britain’s borders. It comes as a search was launched to find a group of migrants after a man in his 20s was stabbed to death on a French beach. French police launched an investigation after a body was found on Terminus Beach, in the popular seaside resort of Berck-sur-Mer on Thursday. Witnesses reported the victim had been attacked by other migrants on the sand dunes at dawn. It is feared that the suspected murderers fled across the Channel to the UK by small boat soon after. That same day, at 6am, a small boat set sail from the same beach carrying 165 migrants. The vessel was later escorted into Dover for its occupants to be processed. The National Crime Agency is liaising with French police following the incident. A spokesperson for the NCA told the Daily Mail: 'We are aware of an incident on Thursday, July 23 in which an individual died in French waters. 'French partners are leading the investigation into the circumstances'.  The Home Office declined to comment on the incident. Your browser does not support iframes. Pictured: Berck-sur-Mer beach in northern France where a man was killed on Thursday French authorities are trying to identify the victim, who had no documents on him. A French investigative source told the Sun: 'There was a fierce argument, and fighting. A young man was stabbed by at least one attacker. 'A knife was close to his dead body in the afternoon, many hours later. 'By this time it is believed those responsible got on a boat and escaped to England.' The incident happened along a 7.5-mile stretch of sand in the commune of Berck-sur-Mer, which sits within Calais. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.