France court convicts six of manslaughter over deadliest Channel crossing that killed 30
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "France court convicts six of manslaughter over deadliest Channel crossing that killed 30")
French lawyer Matthieu Chirez (front 2L) arrives with relatives of victims for the trial of the 14 alleged smugglers over the deaths of 31 migrants in the English Channel in 2021 at the Judicial court in Paris, on September 8, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
A French court has convicted six men of manslaughter over a 2021 Channel crossing that killed at least 30 migrants after an unfit inflatable boat sank while attempting to reach the UK.
A Paris court has found six men guilty of manslaughter over the deadliest small boat crossing in the English Channel, which killed at least 30 people in November 2021.
Seven other men were convicted of lesser smuggling offences, including facilitating illegal immigration as part of an organised gang and criminal conspiracy. Two of the accused were tried in absentia, while one man was found innocent.
The trial, which began earlier this month, focused on the deaths of migrants who were trying to cross the English Channel from northern France to the UK.
What happened during the Channel crossing?
The migrants had left from a beach in northern France in an inflatable dinghy. Court documents say the boat was non-certified and unfit for open-sea navigation.
There were also not enough life jackets for the people on board. Experts who examined the case concluded that the occupants had "no chance" of effectively dealing with an emergency at sea.
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The boat sank while crossing the Channel in November 2021. A French fishing vessel later spotted bodies floating in the waters off the French coast and alerted emergency services.
At least 30 people died in the disaster. Authorities recovered 27 bodies, while at least four others were never found. Only two people survived.
The victims were mainly Iraqi Kurds. They also included Afghans, Ethiopians, an Egyptian, a Somali national, an Iranian Kurd and a Vietnamese national.
The youngest known victim was a seven-year-old girl.
Six men sentenced for manslaughter
The six men found guilty of manslaughter were sentenced to between six and 10 years in prison. The other convicted men received sentences ranging from six months suspended to four years.
The men facing involuntary manslaughter charges included alleged organisers, transporters and logistics coordinators linked to smuggling groups.
Prosecutors argued that their actions helped create the conditions that led to the disaster, even though some of them were not present when the boat launched.
One of the victims was an 18-year-old Kurdish man, Twana Mamand Mohammed. He was trying to reach the UK to reunite with his sister and pursue his dream of playing football for Man City.
His body has never been found.
