1 dead as 1,500 migrants try to storm French side of Eurotunnel to Britain

Migrants try to jump trains to Britain from Calais, France
(Image credit: Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images)

For the second night in a row, hundreds of migrants on Tuesday tried to force their way into the Eurotunnel terminal in Calais, France, in a desperate bid to jump a ride on freight trains to Britain. One of the migrants, reported to be a Sudanese man age 25 to 30, died in Tuesday night's attempt, probably hit by a truck leaving a train from Britain. More than 2,100 people tried to rush the Eurotunnel on Monday night, and eight others have died attempting to stow aboard the trains to Britain since June.

Most of the migrants — from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Syria, Sudan, and North Africa — "plan to seek asylum when they arrive in Britain or ask for protection as refugees," explains The New York Times. "They say they are choosing to go there because they have relatives there, speak some English, or believe they are more likely to get housing once they apply for asylum. It is not clear whether that belief is true."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.