A car from Eurotunnel security follows a group of migrants, in Calais
Migrants rushed the tunnel linking France and England repeatedly for a second night yesterday and one man was crushed by a truck in the chaos, deepening tensions surrounding the thousands of people camped in this northern French port city.
Eurotunnel said it had blocked more than 37,000 such attempts by migrants to reach Britain since January.
There were conflicting numbers of people involved yesterday, ranging from 150 to as many as 1,200. But French authorities and the company agreed there had been about 2,000 attempts on each of two successive nights.
The numbers have been growing exponentially as has sense of crisis in recent weeks, spurred by new barriers around the Eurotunnel site, labor strife that turned the rails into protest sites for striking workers, and an influx of migrants desperate for a better life.
Many British officials have expressed growing alarm at what they see as a potential influx of foreigners, although it’s not clear how many people have successfully made the passage.
A group of about 25 migrants was seen getting off a public bus in Calais yesterday with a police officer who left them by the side of the road. Several said they were returning from a night of trying to cross the Channel.
“(We) come from train here and tomorrow, inshallah, try again in the train,” said an Eritrean who would not give his name as he planned further attempts to reach England.
Natacha Bouchart, mayor of Calais, said about 150-250 migrants tried repeatedly overnight to reach the Eurotunnel. French officials said it was the second night of mass attempts on the tunnel. Gilles Debove, a police union official, counted about 2,000 attempts for a second night running. Debove said officers pushing back the migrants counted between 750 and 1,200 people.
Bouchart told France Info radio migrants are trying to reach England from France “at all costs” — first crossing a busy highway and then trying to stow away on trucks waiting to board trains. She says Britain, France and the Eurotunnel need to work together on the issue.
The man killed overnight, believed to be a Sudanese man in his mid-20s, was crushed by a truck as he tried to stow away, Debove told The Associated Press.
Cargo trucks were lined up overnight for several kilometers leading to the Eurotunnel freight loading zone, some of them stuck on a highway overpass above one of the many makeshift migrant camps. In a tweet, Eurotunnel said passenger trains were delayed an hour because of the overnight activity.
The company called for help from both the French and British governments.
“It’s become a phenomenon which is beyond our means,” said spokesman John Keefe. “We’re just a small transport company operating in a little corner of Europe.” Elaine Ganley, Calais, AP
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