Man who drove dinghy on fatal Channel crossing saved lives, court told

Ibrahima Bah, sketched at a previous hearing at Canterbury Crown Court, denies manslaughter

A migrant who was aboard a sinking dinghy when at least four others drowned in the English Channel has told a court that without the boat's driver "we would all have died".

Ibrahima Bah is accused of steering the boat in return for free passage on it.

He denies four counts of manslaughter and a charge of facilitating a breach of immigration law.

Amrullah Ahmadzai said Mr Bah steered towards a fishing boat after the vessel started to sink.

The jury at Canterbury Crown Court was told by Mr Ahmadzai on Wednesday that the boat started taking on water an hour into the journey on 14 December 2022.

"Everyone was shouting and screaming, they were scared," he said. "When they stood up the water rose more."

Mr Ahmadzai, from Afghanistan, said some jumped into sea but he did not because his life jacket was torn, adding: "If I'd done that myself I would have drowned".

He said Mr Bah drove towards the fishing boat, "but at the same time he was shouting at everyone 'calm down, I'm going to take you there' but no-one was listening to him."

"It's not his fault, he was trying his best… they were all scared and screaming and they all stood up suddenly."

He said: "It was because of the driver, he played a big part in our lives, by going towards the fishing boat. If it wasn't for him we would all have died."

Jurors were told on Tuesday that the low-quality inflatable should have had no more than 20 people on board, despite carrying at least 43 people on the journey.

Another witness, Ghanam Gul Ahmadzai, described someone trying to pour the water back into the sea with a bucket.

He added that as the dinghy got closer to the fishing boat, its wooden floor "burst" underneath the passengers.

"All of us fell into the water," he told the court.

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson told jurors Mr Bah owed his fellow passengers a "duty of care" by being the driver, but he was not trained or licensed to steer the dinghy, and was aware it was overcrowded and lacked safety equipment.

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