One person has been indicted by a court in Paris and nine others may soon be charged over the deaths of 27 migrants in the English Channel last November, local media reported on Thursday.

French police arrested 13 men and two women in operations over the weekend for their involvement in what the UN migration agency had described as the “worst disaster on record” in the Channel.

Aged between 18 and 41, most of the suspects are Afghan nationals, while three, including the two women, are French.

Of the 15, one has been indicted for homicide and involuntary injuries, endangering others, and assistance with the entry and stay of a foreigner in France in an organized gang, daily La Voix Du Nord reported.

Five were released without any charges and nine others will be taken before a judge who will decide whether to indict them or not.

A Paris court opened a judicial investigation into the tragic incident last December.

Just two people survived after a boat carrying 29 migrants sank off the French coast on Nov. 24. Most of them were Iraqi Kurds, Afghans and Ethiopians.

Initial investigations revealed that French and British authorities did not respond to calls for help, passing on the responsibility of rescue efforts to each other. (Anadolu Agency)