Fourteen men face trial in Paris over the deadliest small-boat Channel crossing

Fourteen men have gone on trial in Paris over the deaths of at least 31 people in the worst mass drowning from a small-boat crossing in the Channel on record. The accused, alleged to be linked to people-smuggling networks, face charges including manslaughter and facilitating illegal immigration as part of an organised criminal group. Twenty-seven people were confirmed dead when their inflatable dinghy sank in the early hours of 24 November 2021; four remain unaccounted for. The victims were mostly Iraqi Kurds, but also included people who were Afghan, Ethiopian, Iranian, Somali, Vietnamese and Egyptian. The youngest known victim was a seven-year-old girl; the confirmed dead also included 15 men, seven women and two teenagers.

A French fishing boat near British waters off Calais raised the alarm after seeing bodies in the water. Survivors told how the flimsy boat deflated and took on water after attempting to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes between the northern French coast and Kent, after several hours at sea. Passengers fell overboard and drowned one after another, despite making about a dozen desperate calls for help to French and British rescue services. Only two men survived.

Investigators allege Afghan and Iraqi-Kurdish smuggling networks organised the migrants’ passage to Britain from camps near Grande-Synthe and Calais. The defendants face charges including involuntary manslaughter, facilitating illegal immigration as part of an organised gang and criminal conspiracy. Two of them, including an Afghan man, are the subject of arrest warrants and will be tried in absentia. Among the defendants are alleged organisers, transporters and logistics coordinators. Prosecutors argue their actions helped create the disaster conditions, even if some were not present when the boat launched. Prosecutors accused the defendants of launching a “substandard small boat, uncertified, unfit for navigation, overcrowded and lacking lifejackets”. Liability has also been extended to those accused of transporting, housing or accompanying the victims, part of a “chain of successive events” leading to the tragedy, investigators say. The defendants have denied being smugglers or disputed responsibility, saying some were seeking to migrate themselves. However, phone records and location tracking placed several near the departure site and linked them to organising crossings to Britain.

Despite several distress calls, it was nearly 12 hours after the first pleas for help before the dinghy was found by the French fishing vessel. A separate investigation in France is ongoing into seven military personnel – five at a maritime rescue coordination centre and two sailors on a patrol vessel – under investigation since 2023 for failing to help a person in danger; they deny the allegations.

The UK’s Cranston inquiry, in its February report, found systemic failings, missed opportunities and inadequate resourcing undermined the UK’s maritime search and rescue on the night of the disaster. HM Coastguard was placed in an “intolerable position”, with chronic staff shortages and limited operational capacity contributing directly to the failure to rescue people in the water. The inquiry found the deaths would have been “avoidable” if British and French authorities had acted sooner.

Families of some victims will travel from Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan to attend part of the trial. Lawyers Matthieu Chirez, Thomas Ricard and Camille Renouard said: “Justice must hold accountable everyone who played a role in this tragedy.” Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report.