Migrant dies in Channel Tunnel to UK

French authorities say a migrant has died in the Channel Tunnel between France and England. Picture: Michel Spingler, File

French authorities say a migrant has died in the Channel Tunnel between France and England. Picture: Michel Spingler, File

Published Jul 7, 2015

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Calais - A man was found dead on Tuesday in the Channel Tunnel, authorities in northern France said, in yet another example of the lengths taken by migrants desperate to reach Britain.

Vehicle shuttle services and Eurostar passenger trains were delayed as one of the six sections of the tunnel was closed for investigations, although it remained unclear how the migrant had died.

“Following the discovery of migrants on a freight shuttle, early this morning, the shuttle was immediately stopped,” local authorities in the Pas-de-Calais region said in a written statement.

“During an investigation by border police, a deceased migrant was found in the tunnel,” they added.

Although traffic was only briefly interrupted in the tunnel, the incident triggered three-hour delays on vehicle shuttle services coming from the British side and an hour from France, according to operators Eurotunnel.

Eurostar trains were also delayed.

Thousands of migrants are camped out around the port in the northern city of Calais, in the hope of climbing aboard lorries travelling to Britain on ferries or entering the nearby Channel Tunnel.

The migrants, whose presence has long caused friction between London and Paris, sometimes go to dramatic lengths to smuggle themselves into Britain, and have even been recorded trying to swim across the Channel.

In recent days, traffic through the Channel Tunnel has been repeatedly disrupted due to protesting French sailors, as well as attempts by migrants to enter the tunnel.

Late last month, a migrant from Ethiopia died near the tunnel as he tried to get onto a train in the hope of getting to Britain.

AFP

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