Police officer sprays tear gas at migrants trying to access Channel Tunnel on the A16 highway in Calais, northern France, June 23, 2015. ...
July 04, 2015 1:25 PM
The operator of the rail tunnel linking Britain and France said services were disrupted early Saturday after around 150 migrants tried to storm a French terminal in an attempt to board a Britain-bound freight.
Eurotunnel said freight services were disrupted for a few hours after migrants tried to enter restricted areas port of Calais at about 2 a.m. local time. Some passenger services were also affected.
The disruption was the latest in a series of incidents involving some 3,000 migrants, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, who are camped around the northern French port in the hope of reaching Britain.
Over the past month, the growing numbers of migrants at Calais have also been trying to take advantage of a series of strikes by port workers that have caused long lines of trucks to build up on the approach roads to the port.
Calais is one of the front lines in a wider immigration crisis in which European countries are struggling to agree among themselves how to deal with growing numbers of migrants fleeing conflict or poverty.
Many want to get to Britain because they speak English, have family connections or are convinced they stand a better chance of getting a job there.
The company on Saturday urged authorities to resolve the worsening migrant crisis in the region.
France and Britain agreed on Thursday to step up efforts to secure the port and the Channel Tunnel.
Material for this report came from Reuters and AP.
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