00:0014 accused people smugglers will stand trial in France on Tuesday in connection with the
00:06deadliest recorded small boat accident in the English Channel. 27 people, most of them Iraqi
00:13Kurds, died when their inflatable dinghy sank in November 2021. Four other passengers are still
00:21unaccounted for. Only two people were rescued. Most of the defendants were born in Afghanistan.
00:28They face charges including manslaughter and facilitating illegal immigration as
00:34part of an organised criminal group. French and British authorities are also under
00:40investigation for failing to help a person in danger. A UK inquiry earlier this year
00:46found that some of the deaths would have been avoidable if the authorities had acted
00:51sooner to rescue those on board. Thousands of migrants every year attempt the
00:57dangerous channel crossing, often in small inflatable dinghies.
