France puts 14 on trial over deadliest Channel migrant crossing disaster

Fourteen people will go on trial in France over the loss of 31 migrants in November 2021 in the deadliest small-boat crossing accident recorded in the Channel, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The defendants, linked to people-smuggling networks, are accused of playing a role in the sinking in which 27 people, mainly Iraqi Kurds, were confirmed dead when their inflatable dinghy sank in the early hours of November 24, 2021. Four others are still unaccounted for.

The sinking remains the deadliest recorded small-boat crossing of the Channel, a route used by thousands of migrants each year to reach Britain from France.

The 14 individuals, most of them born in Afghanistan and Iraq, face charges including manslaughter and criminal conspiracy, the national organised crime prosecutor's office said, for roles ranging from drivers to those who organised the crossing.

The investigating judge accuses the majority of the defendants of taking part in "the launching of a low-quality small boat, not certified, unfit for navigation on the high seas, overloaded and lacking suitable life jackets," according to the committal order seen by AFP.

Most deny any wrongdoing, with some Iraqi Kurdish defendants saying they were migrants rather than people smugglers.

It was not immediately clear when the trial would start.

In a separate probe linked to the sinking, at least seven French military personnel are under investigation for failing to help a person in danger.

A UK inquiry in February found some of the deaths would have been "avoidable" if British and French authorities had acted sooner to rescue those onboard.

Despite several distress calls, it was nearly 12 hours after the first pleas for help before the boat was finally found by a French fishing vessel.

By that time, most of those on board, including seven women and two children, had drowned.

France has long been a launchpad for migrants hoping to cross the Channel and start a better life in Britain.

Efforts by Britain and France to curb the crossings have largely failed, with some 41,000 people making the journey last year, the second-highest annual total after nearly 46,000 crossings in 2022.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)