Security crackdowns in the port of Calais have prompted more migrants to
attempt the crossing underground through the Eurotunnel. The massive
waves of migrants trying to get through has worried the British
government.
In a desperate bid to reach England from the French port of Calais, around 2,000 migrants tried to enter the Eurotunnel overnight, according to a statement from a company spokesman on Tuesday. "Between midnight and 6:00 am," the spokesman said, the waves of migrants, many living in despair at a better future after months of living in tents at the French port, attempted the sometimes fatal bid to reach Britain through the tunnel.
"It was the biggest incursion effort in the past month and a half," said the Eurotunnel spokesman, adding that "all our security personnel, that is nearly 200 people, as well as police were called in."
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve confirmed the numbers to news agency AFP, saying "there were some arrests and it all passed off without a fuss." Local authorities, however, disputed the amount, with police saying that despite "regular incursion attempts" it was incorrect to "say that there were 2,000 migrants at the same time."
Calais officials were unable to say if anyone had been injured in their attempts to access the tunnel.
The incident did cause serious disruptions to train service in the Eurotunnel for much of Tuesday, which passengers held up for around an hour on the British side and half an hour on the French side.
Read more: 2,000 migrants tried to enter Eurotunnel overnight | News | DW.COM | 28.07.2015
In a desperate bid to reach England from the French port of Calais, around 2,000 migrants tried to enter the Eurotunnel overnight, according to a statement from a company spokesman on Tuesday. "Between midnight and 6:00 am," the spokesman said, the waves of migrants, many living in despair at a better future after months of living in tents at the French port, attempted the sometimes fatal bid to reach Britain through the tunnel.
"It was the biggest incursion effort in the past month and a half," said the Eurotunnel spokesman, adding that "all our security personnel, that is nearly 200 people, as well as police were called in."
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve confirmed the numbers to news agency AFP, saying "there were some arrests and it all passed off without a fuss." Local authorities, however, disputed the amount, with police saying that despite "regular incursion attempts" it was incorrect to "say that there were 2,000 migrants at the same time."
Calais officials were unable to say if anyone had been injured in their attempts to access the tunnel.
The incident did cause serious disruptions to train service in the Eurotunnel for much of Tuesday, which passengers held up for around an hour on the British side and half an hour on the French side.
Read more: 2,000 migrants tried to enter Eurotunnel overnight | News | DW.COM | 28.07.2015
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