(AFP) Nine men went on trial on Monday in France suspected of smuggling people on a small boat that capsized in the English Channel killing eight passengers in 2022.
Four people died and four went missing after the boat capsized a few kilometres from the English coast with only one of the bodies identified — an Afghan man.
Rescuers saved 39 people from the shipwreck.
The small boat departed France early on December 14, 2022, carrying people from Afghanistan, Albania, India and Senegal.
The eight suspects — Afghans and Kurds aged between 22 and 40 — are being tried in the city of Lille in northern France until Friday, on charges of involuntary manslaughter by violating security obligations.
