Two other soldiers were charged in France on Thursday in connection with the death of 27 migrants after their boat crashed in the English Channel in late 2021, sources close to the investigation and judiciary told AFP.

Migrants cross the English ChannelPhoto: i-Images / Eyevine / Profimedia Images

With these new indictments, a total of seven soldiers are currently charged in the case, organized by the National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organized Crime (Junalco) of the Court of Paris.

The French authorities are suspected of having been called to help more than fifteen times and did not come to the aid of the migrants on the night of the shipwreck.

According to a source close to the investigation, the two soldiers charged on Thursday were aboard the French Navy patrol ship Flamant. This vessel was sailing “in the immediate vicinity” of the boat in which the migrants were, a source told the court.

Ten alleged traffickers, mostly Afghans, have already been charged in this case.

The boat sank in the early evening of November 24, 2021, killing 27 passengers, mostly Iraqi Kurds, aged between 7 and 46.

Then no one came to their aid. According to investigative documents seen by AFP and published by the daily Le Monde in November, neither the French side nor the British side spent the night each shifting responsibility.

In a telephone conversation with the Regional Operation Center for Surveillance and Rescue (CROSS) in Gris Nez, responsible for the rescue in the English Channel, the migrant said: “Help, please (…) I’m in the water. ” “Yes, but you are in English waters, sir,” replied the interlocutor. “No, no, not English waters, but French waters, please come quickly,” he pleaded again, before the conversation ended.

In previous hearings as witnesses in this investigation in late 2021, Cross agents cited a lack of resources, forcing them to “prioritize.” The center handled “hundreds, if not thousands, of calls” that evening, one of them said.

The investigation is also being conducted across the English Channel.

In 2022, almost 46,000 asylum seekers, mostly Afghans, Iranians and Albanians, crossed the English Channel. About 8,000 were rescued in French waters