Some 2,000 migrants tried to enter the Channel Tunnel terminal in Calais on Monday night in an attempt to reach the UK, operator Eurotunnel has said. Eurotunnel is facing a daily struggle with migrants who attempt to smuggle themselves into Britain, sometimes with fatal consequences. “It was the biggest incursion effort in the past month-and-a-half,” said a spokesman for Eurotunnel.
The incident caused serious delays to Eurotunnel train services on Tuesday. Passengers were held up for about an hour on the British side and 30 minutes on the French side, French news agency AFP reports. The spokesman for Eurotunnel said the migrants were trying to enter the site “between midnight and 6am”. He added: “All our security personnel, that is nearly 200 people, as well as police were called in.” Eight migrants have died this summer trying to enter the Channel Tunnel.
AFP says an official count at the beginning of July found that about 3,000 migrants – mainly from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Afghanistan – were camping in Calais and trying to get across the Channel. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve held talks in London on Tuesday with UK Home Secretary Theresa May on the migrant issue. Eurotunnel is seeking compensation from the British and French governments for disruption caused by illegal migrants.
Source: BBC
