A French court on Monday sentenced seven Afghans and two Iraqi Kurds to seven to eight years in jail over the fatal capsizing of a boat carrying would-be asylum seekers from France to England in 2022.

France and Britain have vowed to crack down on people smugglers who heap migrants on flimsy dinghies to make the dangerous Channel crossing in exchange for thousands of dollars.

In the latest such case to go to court in France, a small boat departed France early on December 14, 2022, carrying people from Afghanistan, Albania, India and Senegal.

Four people died and four went missing after the dinghy burst a few kilometres (miles) from the English coast.

Only one of the bodies was identified -- that of an Afghan man.

Rescuers saved 39 people from drowning.

A court in the French city of Lille........

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