A damning new element has been added to the judicial investigation into the deaths of at least 27 people attempting to reach the United Kingdom in the English Channel on November 24, 2021. Le Monde has learned that investigators have established that the crew of French navy vessel Le Flamant, which was patrolling offshore that night, was not monitoring the international distress frequency, Channel 16, on which the British rescue center in Dover had issued four "mayday" alert messages that night. The British center asked all boats in the area to assist the sinking boat, which was carrying around 30 passengers. Monitoring radio Channel 16 watch is "compulsory," emphasize the investigators in a summary filed with the court at the end of 2023.

In addition to investigations into the identities of the smugglers who provided the victims with an unseaworthy inflatable boat, since January 5, 2023, the courts have also been investigating charges of failure to assist a person in danger. This investigation led to the indictment of seven servicemen in May and June 2023. Five of them were on duty with the Regional Surveillance and Rescue Operational Center (CROSS) at Gris-Nez, northern France, and two were on board Le Flamant.

Investigators had already expressed surprise that the CROSS, which was in charge of coordinating the rescue operation, had refused to send Le Flamant to the area where the boat in distress was located. French rescue personnel have been suspected of having waited for the dinghy to pass into English waters in order to offload their responsibilities to their British counterparts. The investigation established that no means of rescue had been sent to the migrants' boat, despite their numerous calls to the French rescue services. "Help us (...) We are dying," one of the small boat's occupants had implored.

While in police custody, CROSS officer Frédéric J. had explained that he had "given priority to monitoring a boat not requesting assistance," the investigators reported. During the hearing, the military CROSS personnel had also pleaded that the mayday signal was intended for ships in the area, to inform them of an emergency and enable them to provide assistance.

But it has now been established that Le Flamant, which was specifically tasked with rescuing migrant boats, did not monitor Channel 16 for seven hours, between 10:12 pm on November 23 and 5:15 am on November 24. Indeed, one of the officers of the deck declared: "We don't monitor Channel 16." These words were drawn from the French ship's bridge audio recording. "Monitoring Channel 16 is a regulatory obligation, and is also a permanently applied instruction within the national navy," emphasize the investigators in the report, considering the violation of this instruction to be a criminal offense that carries a two-year prison sentence under the French code of military justice.

You have 61.89% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.