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A French court sentenced 13 people for organising the 2021 Channel crossing that killed 31 migrants. The verdict underscores the deadly cost of smuggling networks as a separate probe into delayed rescue efforts continues.
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Paris,Sep 30, 2026 21:50 IST
Thirteen people were sentenced to prison terms of up to 10 years on Wednesday in connection with the sinking of a boat in the English Channel in November 2021, one of the biggest tragedies involving migrants attempting the crossing. A total of 31 migrants, most of them Iraqi Kurds, died when the boat went down.
Fourteen people, including two who remain at large, had been on trial since Sept. 8. One of them was acquitted. They were accused of organising the crossing in a small boat that was unfit for navigation on the open sea, was overloaded and did not have appropriate life jackets. Emmanuel Daoud, a lawyer for the victims' families, said, "when it costs the lives of 31 people and the sea becomes a cemetery, there is a price, and the court said that the price they had to pay was justice and prison time."
Meanwhile, an investigation into seven military personnel who have been indicted for failing to assist the shipwreck survivors is still underway. After a fishing vessel alerted authorities about bodies in the water off the coast of Calais, French authorities recovered 27 bodies, including those of two teenagers and a child. Four others were not recovered. The court said the trial highlighted the dramatic consequences of methods used by smugglers driven by greed, "profiting from the vulnerability of exile candidates."
According to court documents, one survivor told investigators that he had taken part in an earlier failed attempt to cross the Channel with 53 other migrants, who were brought back to French shores by rescue teams. He said his family in Iraq had paid USD 3,200 for his passage. He also said the same smugglers' network organised the second attempt on Nov. 24, when the small boat sank. After being prepared in a wooded area, the grey boat, fitted with a 40 CV outboard motor, was launched, and the migrants, wearing life jackets provided by the smugglers, set out to sea at around 10 pm local time.
Four hours later, the boat began to deflate and, after the motor stopped, it drifted with the currents. Some passengers wanted to return to France, while others wanted to reach England, and several people who spoke English tried to contact emergency services, according to the court documents. The case ended with prison terms for 13 people, while the investigation into the response to the disaster is continuing.
With PTI Inputs
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