Five French coastguards charged over capsized boat
Tragedy that claimed the lives of 27 migrants in 2021 being investigated by Paris Prosecutor’s Office
FRENCH prosecutors yesterday charged five military personnel as part of an investigation into the November 2021 sinking of a migrant boat that capsized in the English Channel, killing 27 people.
The Paris Prosecutor’s Office told The Daily Telegraph the personnel, who were in the coastguard at the time, are suspected of “failure to assist a person in danger”. They have since been released.
The tragedy was the worst migrant disaster in the Channel on record. British and French authorities have blamed one another over the response.
It follows a French government investigation last year, which accused authorities there of ignoring 15 distress calls made to them by distressed migrants as their boat began to capsize.
The French rescue services also failed to alert their counterparts in the UK that the boat was in distress, even after it had crossed into British waters.
“No ship responded to this distress call, despite several broadcasts,” the investigators wrote in their report.
According to one transcript of a telephone conversation seen by the AFP news agency, a migrant told the French coastguard on the phone: “Please help! (...) I’m in the water!”
“Yes – but you are in English waters,” replied the coastguard. “No, not English waters! French waters! Please can you come quickly!” the voice insisted, before the conversation was cut off.
A French migrant charity filed a complaint shortly after the tragedy, saying the migrants called both French and British authorities but were only sent help when a French fisherman raised the alert, more than 10 hours later.
Investigators also noted the “inappropriate behaviour” of rescue staff. In one example, the report found that the deputy director of the rescue centre was being referred to as “Super Migrant”.
Nine people were placed in custody during the inquiry into the tragedy, but only five were reportedly charged. Those included three women and two men on duty at the Channel rescue centre.
The workers came from Cross Gris Nez, which is in charge of rescues on the French side of the Channel. The organisation declined to comment.
The majority of those killed in the accident were Iraqi Kurds, aged between seven and 46.
According to more documents from the investigation obtained by Le Monde, passengers first contacted rescue services at 1.48am on Nov 25 after the boat’s engine had stopped working and the rubber dinghy began to deflate. The French interior minister described the dinghy as being “very frail” and like “a pool you blow up in your garden”.
The migrants then sent their locations via Whatsapp. The calls continued for two hours, with passengers continuing to beg for help.
Investigators also collected evidence, including phone calls and text messages, from the only two survivors.
The tragedy happened when Ukfrench relations were strained over Brexit, and amid tensions between then prime minister Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron. Mr Johnson accused the French president of not taking Channel crossings seriously enough, while Mr Macron said the prime minister should not exploit the issue for political gain.
Mr Macron said France “will not let the Channel become a cemetery” and would “find and condemn those responsible”.
The findings of the investigation were published just as France and the UK signed a €72.2 million (£62 million) agreement to increase police patrols on beaches in northern France in an attempt to stop migrants from crossing.
The number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats has increased sharply in recent years. More than 45,000 people crossed to the UK in 2022 alone, according to government figures.