French officials say at least 27 migrants, including children and pregnant women, have been killed when a small boat sank while trying to cross the English Channel.
According to the Associated Press, Interior Minister Gerald Dermanin on Thursday announced the arrest of a fifth suspected smuggler who is believed to have been involved in the tragic maritime incident.
In their immediate response to the sinking, French authorities initially gave slightly different figures for the death toll, which ranged from at least 27 to 31.However, the French Interior Minister announced the number 27 on RTL radio on Thursday morning.
Authorities are trying to determine the nationalities of those who drowned on Wednesday, he said.
According to Gerald Dermanin, two survivors, one from Iraq and the other from Somalia, were treated for hypothermia.
"Pregnant women and children have died," the French interior minister said without elaborating.
He had earlier on Wednesday announced the arrest of four suspected smugglers on suspicion of having links to the sinking ship. He told RTL that the fifth suspected smuggler was caught overnight.
Gerald Dermanin said criminal gangs in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom were behind the human trafficking network.
He called on the countries to cooperate better in the fight against smugglers, saying they did not always respond to French court requests for information.
