Fourteen men have gone on trial in Paris over the 2021 English Channel disaster in which more than 30 migrants died or disappeared while attempting to reach Britain. The defendants face charges including involuntary manslaughter, facilitating illegal immigration through an organised gang and criminal conspiracy. Prosecutors allege that Afghan and Iraqi-Kurdish smuggling networks arranged the journey from migrant camps near Calais and Grande-Synthe. Twenty-seven bodies were recovered, at least four people remained missing and only two survived. The victims came from several countries and included a seven-year-old girl. Investigators found that the migrants had been packed into a flimsy, uncertified dinghy unsuitable for open water and without sufficient life jackets. Prosecutors argue that organisers, transporters and logistics coordinators helped create the circumstances leading to the tragedy, even if they were not present when the vessel departed. A separate British inquiry concluded the deaths were avoidable and identified failures by both French and British authorities in responding to distress calls. The Paris trial is continuing.