The trial over the deaths of 23 Chinese cockle-pickers who were trapped and drowned early last year in Morecambe Bay of northwestern England started Monday in Preston.

The trial took place at Preston Crown Court, some 40 km south of Morecambe Bay where the cockle-pickers were killed in treacherous tides.

Five people, three Chinese and two Britons, are charged in relation to the case.

Lin Liangren, 29, from Liverpool, is charged with 21 counts of manslaughter. He also faces charges of facilitation and perverting the course of justice, along with Zhao Xiaoqing, 20, also from Liverpool.

Lin Muyong, 30, faces a single charge of assisting illegal entry into Britain.

David Eden, 62, who owns a fishing company in Liverpool, and his 34-year-old son who is also called David, are charged with facilitation.

The trial was previously scheduled for last week but was postponed to Monday due to technical reasons. Insiders say the case could run as long as six months.

The tragedy happened on Feb. 5, 2004, when the Chinese cockle-pickers went at night to the sea at the Morecame Bay where the tide can rise up to 10 meters high and fall back 12 km away from the shore within minutes.

Evidence collection and investigation took almost one year and a half and the British police even went to China to collect DNA evidence of the dead.

Source: Xinhua