October 30: The body of a 25-year-old Indian migrant is found inside a Slovenian lorry.
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The Conservative Party lawmaker for Folkestone, Damian Collins, said French authorities needed to better secure their side of the tunnel. But it was agreed there had been about 2,000 attempts on each of two successive nights. “Let us be clear: Those are 2,000 intrusions on the site”.
English literature graduate Mohammad Al-Mohammad, 26, said he had fled civil war in Syria, travelling through Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Austria and Italy before arriving in France three months ago.
France and Britain are understood to have agreed to bolster co-operation to repatriate more migrants camped out in Calais or nearby, who are estimated to number around 5,000.
Eurotunnel said in a statement that “using its own resources”, it had blocked 37,000 migrants trying to make the journey since the beginning of the year and issued a plea for help.
Eurotunnel had notably cut to 103 from 325 in 2002 the number of security agents on the site, he said.
The migrant killed in Calais Wednesday was the ninth such death since June and the rising toll is creating tensions between French authorities and Eurotunnel, the firm that runs the passenger and freight service under the Channel.
Since her death, Pas de Calais administrator Fabienne Buccio announced new safety measures involving the Chunnel.
Sources suggested migrants were targeting Eurotunnel trains after the authorities had succeeded in making it harder for them to get onto cross-Channel ferries.
No wonder the Mediterranean Sea is listed as the stretch of water with the most drownings as thousands of refugee migrants seeking to improve their lives pay through the nose to cross the waters in makeshift and overcrowded boats. We need them to stop the migrant flow from Calais but it appears to be too much for them to handle.
Labour MP Keith Vaz, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: “At the end of the day, sending an extra 140 police officers into Calais is not going to solve the problem”.
The Home Secretary said she was “very aware” of the impact of the crisis on lorry drivers, those affected by delays and the people of Kent.
Eurotunnel has sought 9.7 million euros ($10.7 million) from London and Paris in compensation for disruption caused by the migrants.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking during a visit to Singapore, described the crisis as “very concerning”, but that there was no point in “pointing fingers of blame”.
Eurotunnel warned on Twitter it was operating with a “disrupted timetable” due to “migrant activity overnight”.
He expressed sympathy for the holidaymakers who had been affected by the situation at Calais. “We will do everything that we can to work with the French and bring these things to a conclusion”.
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In a July 23 letter sent by French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to Eurotunnel boss Jacques Gounon and seen by Reuters, Cazeneuve accused Eurotunnel of not doing enough to ensure Tunnel security “given the worsening situation”.
