The lives of more than 30 people who died trying to cross the Channel in a small boat could have been saved had a French warship responded to a Mayday call, an inquiry has found. Chairman Sir Ross Cranston also said the people smugglers who supplied the unsafe inflatable vessel, and flaws in HM Coastguard’s search and rescue response, contributed to the deadliest incident of its kind on record. The boat became swamped and capsized while attempting the journey from France to the UK in the early hours of 24 November 2021. A four-week public inquiry identified 27 men, women and children, whose bodies were recovered, while four other people are missing and presumed dead. Only two of at least 33 people who boarded the boat survived after they were recovered in French waters nearly 12 hours after the first calls for help. Image: The remains of the boat that capsized In his 454-page report, Sir Ross concluded the loss of life “was avoidable” and “some of the deaths could’ve been prevented” as he said: “The …