Key facts
- Six men were convicted of manslaughter by a Paris court.
- The convictions are for the 2021 English Channel migrant disaster.
- Over 30 migrants died when their dinghy deflated during the crossing.
- Sentences ranged from six to 10 years in prison.
A Paris court on Wednesday found six men guilty of manslaughter over the drowning of more than 30 people in the English Channel five years ago, the worst disaster on record involving migrants in the narrow seaway separating France and Britain. The migrants perished after their overloaded dinghy deflated as they made the crossing across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Sentences for the six men ranged from six to 10 years in prison. Investigators alleged that Afghan and Iraqi-Kurdish smuggling networks organised the illegal migrants' passage to Britain from camps near Grande-Synthe and Calais in northern France. The defendants faced charges including involuntary manslaughter, facilitating illegal immigration as part of an organised gang and criminal conspiracy. A French fishing vessel alerted emergency services after spotting bodies floating in the waters off the French coast near Calais in November 2021. Experts concluded the dinghy was unfit for open-sea navigation and lacked enough life jackets, leaving occupants with "no chance" of effectively dealing with an emergency. Two defendants eluded French authorities and were tried in absentia. A British inquiry into the disaster found the deaths were avoidable, citing a French naval vessel's failure to respond to a call for help from the British coastguard and flawed decisions by the coastguard, including ending a search for survivors too early.