Migrant dies in Channel Tunnel as British security body meets over crisis

Several hundred migrants were escorted away from the terminal by French police on Wednesday night – the third night of large-scale attempts to storm the terminal.

Migrants walk along the rail tracks at the Eurotunnel terminal in the French port town of Calais. Such attempts, numbering in the tens of thousands, have fueled a growing sense of crisis on the English Channel this year. It carries freight traffic, passenger trains and road vehicles through the underwater tunnel.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian man is reported to have suffered serious burns after hitting an overhead power line as he attempted to get on to the roof of a Eurostar train in Paris.

Migrants have continued to press northward, fleeing war, dictatorship and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

Mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, say migrants want to come to Britain because they will get more money and support than in other places – and will do anything they can to keep moving across the Channel.

Britain’s Guardian newspaper says as many as 150 migrants are arriving daily in Calais, triggering high-level warnings that as many as 10,000 migrants could try to enter Britain by the end of August.

Speaking in Vietnam during his south-east Asian tour, the Prime Minister said the French had sent an extra 120 police and the UK was investing in fencing and security measures at the Channel crossings in Calais and Coquelles.

In the last month, nine people have been killed trying to make the hazardous journey, according to Eurotunnel.

The man is the ninth person to die trying to access the tunnels since June.

There were conflicting numbers of people involved Wednesday, ranging from 150 to as many as 1,200.

Afterwards Eurotunnel said its French platform was unavailable due to “security reasons”.

At 31 miles, the Channel Tunnel connects France – and the rest of Europe – with England and the British Isles.

“This exceptional migrant situation has dramatic human consequences”, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said. Around 3,000 migrants have started to camp near the tunnel at Calais. In a tweet, Eurotunnel said passenger trains were delayed an hour because of the overnight activity.

Both countries are now coordinating efforts to return migrants to their home countries, particularly in West Africa.

“The continuous pressure exerted every night is above and beyond that which a concessionaire can reasonably handle and requires a constructive and appropriate response from the [French and British] governments”, Eurotunnel said in a statement.

It’s believed that this summer eight migrants have tried while trying to reach Britain this way while AFP report that around 3000 migrants are camped there.

“That requires the French authorities making more manpower available to make sure they police the frontier properly”.

“This is very concerning”, he told reporters during a visit to Singapore, adding that “we are working very closely” with French authorities to address the situation.