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2,000 migrants, desperate to reach Britain, try to storm Channel Tunnel

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Migrants who successfully crossed the Eurotunnel terminal walk next to the tracks as they try to catch a shuttle to Britain. Photo: AFP

Attempts by migrants desperate to reach England through the Channel Tunnel have reached a new peak, as about 2,000 migrants tried to storm the Eurotunnel terminal in the French port town of Calais.

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“It was the biggest incursion effort in the past month and a half,” said a spokesman for Eurotunnel, which is battling often deadly efforts by migrants to smuggle into Britain.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, on a trip to London to discuss the migration issue, confirmed the figures from Tuesday’s incident: “There were some arrests and it all passed off without a fuss.”

By Tuesday evening calm had returned to the Eurotunnel premises, which are usually bustling with hundreds of migrants waiting to seize their chance to cross over.

For several weeks, there have been many attempts by large numbers of migrants to enter the Eurotunnel premises.

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Security at the Calais port was stepped up in mid-June, driving migrants who previously tried to stow away on trucks that take ferries across the Channel to try their luck via the undersea tunnel.

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