Man arrested in UK over deaths of 27 during Channel crossing

LONDON (AP) — British police have arrested a man over the deaths of at least 27 people who drowned while trying to cross the English Channel in a dinghy. The U.K.’s National Crime Agency said Harem Ahmed Abwbaker was detained in the town of Cheltenham in southwest England after an investigation by U.K. and French authorities. The 32-year-old is accused of being a member of an organized crime gang behind the crossing. Only two people survived when the packed boat sank between France and England on Nov. 27, 2021. Twenty-seven are confirmed to have died and four are still missing. Abwbaker is due to appear Wednesday at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court to face a French extradition request.