Desperate migrants attempt to reach UK from Calais

Sixteen migrants were discovered inside a tanker truck at a service station on the outskirts of Calais (Pas-de-Calais) on Saturday. They were trying to make an illegal crossing from France to the United Kingdom.

Reuters

The truck driver heard noises coming from the tank holder carrying polypropylene beads when he stopped to refuel. The sixteen migrants of Syrian origin were discovered inside the tank holder, with four of them being in ill health. After a medical examination they were handed over to the border police.

A similar incident took place on Monday when seventeen other migrants, also of Syrian origin, were discovered in a similar fashion.

More than a thousand migrants are currently in Calais waiting to board a ferry to the UK. Since the beginning of August these migrants have started boarding trucks in parking lots around Calais in an attempt to make the crossing, but not all the trucks in the area are on their way to England.

Tensions are high in Calais following the influx of illegal migrants.

On Saturday, hundreds of migrants slowed down traffic on the ring road leading to the Calais ferry terminal as they tried to force entry into the terminal.

General security measures in Calais have been strengthened following violent clashes between migrants at the beginning of the month.