The Jury in the retrial of a migrant accused of the manslaughter of four passengers in an “unseaworthy” boat he piloted to the UK have been sent home after their first day of deliberations.

Senegalese Asylum Seeker Ibrahima Bah, who is over 18, faces four counts of manslaughter, and facilitating a breach of immigration law at Canterbury Crown Court.

During the trial, the jury heard that in the early hours of December 14 , 2022, Bah piloted a non-factory-built inflatable from the coast of Dunkirk, France into the English Channel.

The boat was made from low-quality material and its base could not hold the weight of its estimated 43 passengers - double what it could safely have held.

The passengers, from countries including Afghanistan, Iran, and Albania, had each paid smugglers as much as £8,000 to take the perilous journey. However, Bah had agreed to pilot the boat in exchange for free travel for himself and a friend.

Prosecution KC Duncan Atkinson told the jury that Bah was not trained or licensed to lead the voyage and the boat had insufficient safety equipment including life jackets.

The court heard that after leaving Dunkirk the inflatable quickly started taking on water and within 30 minutes it had reached passengers’ knees causing them to panic.

Atkinson said: “Despite these increasing and obvious problems, the defendant continued to head into UK waters.

FILE PHOTO from April 2023: Court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook of Ibrahima Bah, 19, at Folkestone Magistrates' Court, Kent, appearing by video link from HMP Elmley, charged with four counts of manslaughter over fatal small boat incident in English Channel on December 14, 2022.

“Indeed, one passenger considered that the defendant was driving the boat at an unsafe and excessive speed. That passenger also heard him say ‘I will either take you there or kill you all’.”

In a summarised account of one of the Afghan asylum seekers on the boat, Mr Atkinson said it was something “he heard him, he thought jokingly, say”.

Eventually, the bottom of the boat gave way and the vessel folded in half forcing all the passengers into the water.

The jury heard that a crew on a UK fishing boat called the Arcturus came to their rescue, and with help from UK Border Force, the RNLI and air ambulance, 39 survivors were taken to the port of Dover.

Atkinson added that the exact number of migrants who drowned is unknown as it appears at least one body was not recovered.

During the trial, Bah denied all the charges and claimed he would have been killed by smugglers if had refused to pilot the boat.

The defendant told jurors: “Once we got there and I saw that boat had been assembled, and I then saw the number of people who were going to be travelling, that’s when I said ‘no I’m not doing it’.

“When I said I’m not doing it, I was beaten up and they showed me that if I didn’t pilot the boat, they were going to beat me up and kill me.”

During the cross-examination, Atkinson accused Bah of not telling the truth about being forced to pilot the boat.

Bah replied: “I’m the one who went through this experience, I’m the one who is before this court today, so I know what I’m talking about.”

Speaking of the journey, Bah said: “My intention was to get here safely. Get on the water to be picked up so we could claim asylum.

The court heard how after the rescue Bah told police he had travelled from Senegal to Mali, Algeria and then Libya two years earlier, before going by boat from Libya to Italy using smugglers, before finally making his way to France.

Bah is also accused of facilitating illegal entry to the UK but he denied knowing he was travelling to the country illegally.

“To me the law allowed me to go to any country to claim asylum,” he said.

The jury will continue their deliberations tomorrow.