Channel migrant tragedy: 13 sentenced in France over fatal crossing

A court in Paris has sentenced six men to prison after finding them guilty of manslaughter in connection with the sinking of a migrant boat in the Channel on November 24, 2021. At least 27 people died in the tragedy.

Seven other defendants were convicted of lesser offenses related to migrant smuggling, while one person was acquitted.

The six men convicted of manslaughter received prison sentences ranging from six to 10 years. The others received sentences ranging from six months, suspended, to four years in prison.

The case centered on the sinking of an inflatable dinghy that was attempting to travel from the northern coast of France to England.

Prosecutors said the defendants had helped launch a vessel unfit for the open sea, overcrowded and lacking adequate lifesaving equipment. According to prosecutors, they did so for financial gain despite the serious risk to passengers’ lives.

After several hours at sea, the dinghy began to lose air and take on water. The passengers ended up in the sea, where they drowned one after another. Survivors said about a dozen requests for help were sent from the boat to French and British rescue services.

In the end, only two people survived. The deaths of 27 victims were confirmed, while four others remain missing.

Most of the victims were Kurds from Iraq. They also included nationals of Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iran, Somalia, Vietnam and Egypt. The youngest identified victim was a seven-year-old girl.

According to the court, those convicted had ties to Afghan and Iraqi-Kurdish smuggling networks that organized crossings to Britain from migrant camps near Grande-Synthe and Calais in northern France.

Separately, seven members of the French military have been under investigation since 2023. They are suspected of failing to help people in danger but deny the allegations.

Relatives of the victims attended the trial. Some are still waiting for their loved ones’ bodies to be found.

Zana Mahmand Mohammed, whose 18-year-old brother, Twana, died in the tragedy and whose body has not been found, said the family has lived with uncertainty about his fate for five years.

The 2021 incident remains one of the worst tragedies involving small-boat crossings in the Channel, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.