Channel migrant disaster: 14 go on trial in France

Fourteen men went on trial in France on Tuesday over the 2021 Channel migrant boat disaster, in which 27 people died and four others remain unaccounted for after an inflatable dinghy sank while trying to reach England.

The victims, aged between seven and 46, included seven women and two teenagers. They were mostly Iraqi Kurds, with Afghan, Ethiopian, Egyptian and Vietnamese nationals also among them. Only two men survived.

The trial involves 114 civil parties, including victims' families. Some relatives travelled from Erbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region to testify. Thomas Ricard, a lawyer for many of the families, said nine people came from Erbil.

At the opening, nine of the defendants were present, one of them in custody. Two defendants are the subject of arrest warrants and will be tried in absentia.

The sinking happened in the early hours of November 24, 2021. A French fishing vessel later reported several lifeless bodies floating in the Channel off Calais, close to British waters.

Testimony from the two survivors helped investigators reconstruct part of the crossing. The survivors had paid 1,500 euros and 2,750 euros respectively. Issa Omar, a Somali survivor, said during the investigation that the boat began to deflate and take on water after several hours at sea.

“Around 2:30 am, we began bailing water out. But suddenly the boat capsized,” Omar said in testimony read out in court.

The passengers made around a dozen calls for help to French and British rescue services. The boat was found nearly 12 hours after the first pleas for help. A UK inquiry released in February found that some of the deaths would have been “avoidable” if British and French authorities had acted sooner.

The defendants, most of them born in Afghanistan, are accused of manslaughter and facilitating illegal immigration as part of an organised criminal group. They risk up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors accuse the defendants of helping launch a small boat that was substandard, uncertified, unfit for the open sea, overcrowded and lacking appropriate life jackets. The defendants have denied being smugglers and disputed responsibility, or have presented themselves as migrants who were trying to make the journey themselves.

A separate strand of the investigation is continuing. Seven French military personnel have been under investigation since 2023 for failing to help people in danger. That case could lead to another trial.

The trial is expected to last three weeks.