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More police at Calais freight tunnel as hundreds of migrants gather

French police began a count on the migrants in the beginning of July.

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Eurotunnel did not give precise figures but acknowledged the night had been quieter than previous nights.

One Sudanese migrant was killed in such an attempt early Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday afternoon police in Paris said a man was electrocuted trying to get jump on board a Eurostar train bound for London.

This week’s death and injuries highlight the saga of West African migrants looking for what they think will be a better life in the United Kingdom It also underscores the headaches facing Calais, where camps have been set up by about 3,000 people, mostly from Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea and Afghanistan, according to The Guardian newspaper.

The crisis has caused travel chaos on both sides of the Channel, with motorists reporting long queues to get into the terminals.

Three migrants die from burns suffered a few days earlier as they tried to enter the tunnel.

Bouchart claims that several Calais businesses have been forced to close because of the migrants, and that the bad publicity has damaged the city’s image.

However, a spokesman for Groupe Eurotunnel, which operates the Channel Tunnel, said that since the arrival of migrants in the area around Calais, it has invested more than €160m in physical resources – fences, cameras, infra-red detectors – and personnel.

epa04865519 Migrants walk along the railway to catch a train to reach England, in Calais, France Wedensday.

“The pressure we are now under every night exceeds that which an operator can reasonably handle, and calls for an appropriate reaction from the states” of France and Britain, the firm stressed in a statement.

Following talks between Cazeneuve and British Home Secretary Theresa May on Tuesday, they promised to expand publicity drives in the migrants’ countries of origin to discourage people from seeking asylum in France and inform them about “the realities of life for illegal migrants in the UK”.

Britain has agreed to spend an extra £7 million to tackle the Calais migrant crisis amid criticism of its handling of the tunnel invasions.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking during his visit to Singapore, described the crisis as “very concerning”, but that there was no point in “pointing fingers of blame”.

He said the Scottish seafood sector had been particularly affected, saying: “That’s a sector that relies on the markets in the continent and they have to access these markets through Calais and the Channel Tunnel and the ferry terminals, and it’s a product that’s got to reach customers in a fresh condition and on time”. “I can’t believe they would be that lax in protecting an airport or another sensitive facility”, Collins said. Hundreds more arrive each week hoping to try their luck dangerously stowing away on a ride to the other side. “But that has happened constantly throughout the summer”.

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The British cabinet is holding an emergency session Wednesday night to address the matter, while it also urges France to accelerate the construction of 1.2 miles of new security fencing around the tunnel entrance at Coquelles.

Disruptions at the French port have shut down transport on both sides of the Channel