One migrant was crushed to death Wednesday during an attempt to breach security. Hundreds more arrive each week hoping to try their luck dangerously stowing away on a ride to the other side. People are losing their life.
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Earlier this week, two migrants were injured after being hit by trains, and seven others were saved from drowning.
They are mainly from Africa and the Middle East, as regional conflicts are forcing more and more people to flee their homelands.
One man is dead as 1,500 migrants rushed the tunnel, desperately trying to make England, reports the BBC.
British officials have increasingly sounded the alarm over a potential influx of foreigners.
It’s unclear how many migrants have actually succeeded in making it to Britain. France’s government called on Eurotunnel, the company that operates the tunnel, to increase its protection of the sensitive site.
“It’s a shame, I like the job and like travelling, but every time you leave France to get back to the UK it is really nasty”. Those caught on the in British side may be detained while their applications for asylum are considered. Most try to hop trucks, which in turn travel on board trains and ferries. The U.K.is seen as an El Dorado for migrants, said Emmanuel Agrius, the deputy mayor of Calais.
With its own security resources, Eurotunnel said it had foiled 37,000 migrants from entering its premises since the beginning of the year but pleaded for more help from official authorities.
BEARDSLEY: Nine migrants have died since June attempting to cross the Channel Tunnel to Britain from Calais.
The man – believed to be an Egyptian in his late teens – was electrocuted as he climbed onto the roof of a Eurostar train at the Gare du Nord station at 2pm today.
Theresa May, the home secretary, has promised an extra £7 billion in funding.
He said: “The committee warned before the summer recess that the situation in Calais would descend into a summer crisis”.
Numerous migrants originate from Syria and Iraq, where people say they are trying to escape the four-year civil war, starvation and human rights abuses.
“We are trying to get on the lorries, but we never make it”, a young Syrian boy, who escaped with his mother tells a Guardian reporter. Hundreds of lorries are parked along the motorway leading to the port of Dover and the British tunnel terminal in what police have called “Operation Stack”.
“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 (British and French) governments”, Eurotunnel said in a statement.
“It’s become a phenomenon which is beyond our means”, Eurotunnel spokesman John Keefe said. “We’re just a small transport company operating in a little corner of Europe”.
Prime Minister David Cameron has described the situation as “very concerning” while the Ms May was due to chair an emergency Cobra meeting on Wednesday morning.
The Government said it is working closely with its French counterpart to “seek an urgent return of normal services”, while it said it has deployed extra border force staff and sniffer dogs to northern France for both tourist and freight traffic.
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The migrant crisis has turned into a blame game with Eurotunnel asking French and British governments to reimburse it for the €10-million it has spent to beef up security to cope with the Calais crisis.
