Eurotunnel (Paris: FR0010533075 – news) has suspended all train services between Folkestone and Calais due to a “massive intrusion” of over 100 migrants.
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The BBC reported that trains were halted from 11:30 p.m., local time, Friday (6:30 p.m. EDT) after a group of 200 migrants tried to manhandle staff and throw stones at them, in their attempt to enter the terminal.
Eurotunnel set up a support group of psychologists at the end of July when more than 2,000 attempts to penetrate the tunnel were registered, spokesman Romain Dufour said Friday.
Police arrested about 100 migrants, having already prevented about 80 from entering the terminal.
Eurotunnel has said it “deplored” the accident, and a spokesman added: “It’s another very regrettable incident which serves to highlight the risks associated with crossing the Channel illegally”.
Eurotunnel said the tunnel had been closed as the security forces went in to try and track them down.
The lorry driver climbed up to the space above the cab and pulled the migrant down after being alerted by the police officers.
Services resumed at around 8.30am GMT but passengers travelling in both directions face three-hour delays.
Services through the Channel Tunnel are affected this morning after migrants broke through fences in Calais.
“The police have removed them and taken them into custody”. Six security staff managed to hold 80 of the group back but 120 got in to the terminal and made their way to the tunnel.
The disruption was the latest in a series of incidents involving migrants who are camped around the northern in the hope of reaching Britain. An Eritrean man died on Wednesday after being hit by a train near the tunnel entrance in Calais.
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The situation in Calais is part of a wider migrant crisis across Europe, with huge numbers of people heading north from the Mediterranean.
