Refugee electrocuted at Channel Tunnel site

Authorities have confirmed a man has since died, but have not yet verified the cause as electrocution.

Their efforts to gain access to U.K.-destined trucks or the train services that run under the English Channel have led to 16 deaths since June according to French medical organization Medecins du Monde, as well as massive delays on roads leading to the tunnel.

The surge in migrants attempting to cross the Channel prompted a string of measures to increase security at the terminal, including extra fencing and the deployment of more border force search and dog teams.

PARIS-A Syrian man was found dead Thursday night at a Eurotunnel facility in the French port city of Calais, police said, in an apparent attempt to sneak onto a high-speed train bound for the United Kingdom .

“The Emergency Services were called and immediately took them into their care”.

Eurotunnel, which operates the cross-channel link, said: “We deplore this event, which proves once again that any attempt to cross the Channel illegally carries considerable risks”.

Eurotunnel Le Shuttle’s passenger service is operating with some timetable disruption and a waiting time of about 30 minutes in the terminal on its Dover to Calais route.

At its peak, the number of attempts to board lorries or trains was around 2,000 a night – but that has since fallen.

One was unconscious and another was injured.

A spokesman for the Pas de Calais prefecture said: “The migrant died just before midnight”.

The situation in Calais comes as Europe struggles to cope with the huge numbers of people heading north from the Mediterranean.

Officials said they had no choice after more than 13,000 people entered the country since Hungary fenced off its border with Serbia earlier this week.

Britain is preparing to welcome the first group of Syrian refugees under the Government’s expanded resettlement programme in the coming days.