Eurotunnel migrant crisis
France and Britain face a heightened crisis as hundreds of illegal migrants make nightly attempts to enter England through the Channel Tunnel. The crisis reached a peak this week with several nights of attempts by over 2,000 people to reach the tunnel and one man, in his mid-20s from Sudan, crushed to death by a truck on July 29, 2015.
France beefed up its police presence as overwhelmed French authorities struggled to fight off migrants scaling fences near the tunnel, hopping on freight trains or trucks destined for Britain. British Prime Minister David Cameron offered to send sniffer dogs and fencing to help control the surge.
In this photo, a migrant climbs a security fence of a Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles near Calais in northern France on July 30, 2015.
Calais migrant crisis
Migrants wait around as gendarmerie guard a road leading towards the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles on July 30, 2015 in Calais, France.
Migrants have long made their way to the northern France, biding their time for the opportunity to cross to Britain, but Eurotunnel authorities said they had blocked more than 37,000 attempts since January.
Migrants in Calais
Migrants walk along railway tracks at the Eurotunnel terminal in Calais-Frethun, July 28, 2015.
Attempts by migrants desperate to reach England through the Channel Tunnel reached a new peak overnight July 27/28, as about 2,000 migrants tried to enter the Eurotunnel terminal in the port town of Calais in northern France.
Migrants
French riot policemen force out migrants who were hidden in a lorry making its way to the ferry terminal in Calais on October 22, 2014.
Britain and France agreed to improve border controls and cooperate more closely in an effort to control a growing number of illegal migrants trying to cross the English Channel from the French port city of Calais to Britain.
Calais migrant crisis
French gendarmes try to stop migrants on the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais in northern France on late July 29, 2015.
Calais migrant crisis
Migrants who successfully crossed the Eurotunnel terminal walk on the side of the railroad as they try to reach a shuttle to Great Britain in Frethun, northern France, July 28, 2015.
About 2,000 migrants tried to enter the Eurotunnel terminal in the French port town of Calais overnight in a desperate bid to reach England through the Channel tunnel, a spokesman said July 28.
Migrant crisis
Migrants gather near the Eurotunnel terminal to try to climb in a shuttle heading to Great Britain from Frethun, northern France, July 28, 2015.
Calais migrant crisis
A policeman fends off migrants trying to reach the Channel Tunnel operated by Eurotunnel in Coquelles near Calais, northern France late on July 29, 2015.
One man died July 29 in a desperate attempt to reach England via the Channel Tunnel as overwhelmed authorities fought off thousands of migrants.
Migrant crisis
Policemen try to prevent migrants from reaching the Channel Tunnel in Coquelles near Calais, northern France on late July 29, 2015.
Migrant crisis
The hands of a migrant (L) are seen as he argues with a truck driver, reflected in a mirror, as lorries wait in line on the motorway which leads to the Channel Tunnel terminal in Calais in northern France, June 24, 2015.
Calais migrant crisis
A migrant is seen on the top a truck as he attempts to make a clandestine crossing to England through the Channel Tunnel in Calais, France, May 22, 2015. This is a daily ocurrence in Calais.
Calais migrant crisis
Migrants are seen near a Channel Tunnel train in Coquelles near Calais in northern France on late July 29, 2015.
Calais migrant crisis
Migrants trying to reach the Channel Tunnel run past a policeman on the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais in northern France on late July 29, 2015.
Migrant crisis
Policemen stand by as migrants rest on the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais, northern France overnight early July 30, 2015.
Calais migrant crisis
Migrants stand in front of a road sign for France on the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais, northern France on early July 30, 2015.
Calais migrant crisis
Two migrants sit on a guardrail which overlooks the road that lorries take to reach the Channel Tunnel crossing in Calais, France, May 21, 2015.
Migrants in Calais
A French policeman with a nightstick chases a migrant on the road that lorries take to reach the Channel tunnel crossing in Calais, France, May 21, 2015.
In May, France gave broad backing to an EU scheme to share out asylum-seekers among EU states to deal with a surge of migrants. The continent is seeing a surge in migrants fleeing hunger and war in Africa and the Middle East after over 600,000 sought refuge in the EU last year.
Migrants in Calais
Migrants walk down a slope beside a road leading to the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles on July 30, 2015 in Calais, France.
Though numbers decreased somewhat from early in the week, hundreds of migrants are continuing to attempt to enter the Channel Tunnel and onto trains heading to the United Kingdom.
Calais migrant crisis
A TGV high speed train passes behind razor-wire fencing close to the Channel Tunnel site on which a sweat shirt is stretched to protect asylum seekers who climb over the fence in Calais, northern France, July 29, 2015.
The death of a Sudanese man trying to cross through the tunnel is one of a number of recent deaths in as British ministers and security chiefs meet over the crisis in Calais.
Migrants in Calais
Migrants help a man squeeze through a gap in a fence near the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles on July 30, 2015 in Calais, France.
Calais migrant crisis
Gendarmerie guard a road leading to the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles on July 30, 2015 in Calais, France.
Calais migrant crisis
French gendarmes block migrants along a road to prevent them access to train tracks which lead to the Channel Tunnel in Frethun, near Calais, France, July 29, 2015.
Calais migrant crisis
A migrant from Rwanda, who gave his name as Alex, aged 35, and is the father of two children, stands on an overpass as he watches a train pass on tracks below in Calais, France, July 30, 2015. Alex told Reuters that trying to make the crossing is too dangerous and he has decided to seek asylum in France.
Other migrants who massed around the entrance to the Channel Tunnel said they would keep trying to sneak across to Britain, undaunted by the arrival of 120 extra riot police on the French side. A police officer said the number of migrants trying to enter Britain eased slightly overnight compared to earlier in the week, with about 800 migrants around the site and some 300 intercepted by police.
Calais migrant crisis
An aerial view shows a field named "new jungle" with tents and makeshift shelters where migrants and asylum seekers stay in Calais, northern France, July 21, 2015.
Around 3,000 migrants, fleeing war, political turmoil and poverty are camped in Calais and make daily attempts to board lorries and trains heading towards Britain. The problem has been exacerbated in recent weeks by a French ferry workers' strike which has blocked traffic around the port.