A migrant died on Tuesday trying to reach Britain through the Channel Tunnel, French authorities in the Pas-de-Calais region have confirmed. One of the six sections of the tunnel was closed for investigation, but train traffic had not stopped. It was as yet unclear how the migrant died.

“Following the detection of migrants on a freight shuttle early this morning, the shuttle was immediately stopped,” said the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, the local state authority.

“During a security inspection by border police, a deceased migrant was found in the tunnel”, it said in a statement.

Gilles Debove, of the police union Unité SGP-Police FO, said: "Around 400 migrants arrived and besieged the tunnel, as they do almost every night. One managed to board a freight shuttle and unfortunately fell off, losing his life."

Eurostar announced that "trains are subject to delays" in another tweet without further detail, while Eurotunnel said the shuttle on which the incident took place had now left the tunnel on the French side.

Last month, a 26-year old Eritrean migrant was killed on the French side of the Channel Tunnel after trying to board a moving freight train. He was thrown off and collided with a concrete pylon.

Days later, a female migrant was found dead on the A16 motorway after being crushed by a vehicle.

Local police have warned that migrants are now breaking into restricted areas on the French side of the Eurotunnel terminal almost nightly.

A Eurotunnel spokesman said: "Services are partly suspended, and the disruption is principally affecting freight services. Passenger services are running with slight delays.

"We are working very hard to restore full services as soon as possible."

The incident comes days after around 150 migrants caused delays and cancellations when they tried to storm the Channel Tunnel terminal in France.

There have been increased calls for a resolution to the migrant crisis in Calais.



Kent Police said delays were building around junction 11a of the M20, where lorries are queued as part of Operation Stack when cross-Channel services hit disruption.

The migrant crisis in Calais has escalated in recent months, with around 3,000 people displaced from countries including Eritrea, Syria and Afghanistan setting up camp near the port.

Last week more than 3,000 truckers had to queue for several days in high temperatures on the M20 following a wildcat strike by ferry workers in France.

Industrial action by ferry workers this summer has come on top of the problems faced by hauliers with migrants desperately trying to clamber on board their HGVs to the UK.

French authorities have faced claims they are not doing enough to safeguard lorry drivers from intimidation, violence and attempts by migrants to climb on.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has suggested deployment of the French military to boost security in Calais amid fears that a fatality could occur.



The Fresh Produce Consortium estimates that £10 million of fresh fruit and vegetables have been thrown away since the start of the year as a result of the problems in Calais.

And Port of Dover officials said last week`s ferry strike cost the UK economy £1 billion.

They have joined calls for "robust contingency plans" to be introduced to ensure the port - a £100 billion trade route - can work unimpeded by others.

Home Secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve last week agreed to increase the joint intervention fund to improve security around the port and the Channel Tunnel.

French aid workers have reported a "catastrophic" situation, with predictions that 2,000 more migrants could arrive over the summer at the camp, dubbed Jungle II.

Volunteers from L`Auberge Des Migrants say up to 50 new migrants are arriving every day at the camp, and there are not enough tents, blankets or food.

Dover Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke has said the problems underlined the need to consider expanding the port at Dunkirk, 45 miles from Calais.

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