Two More Migrant Deaths on the UK-Calais Border

lt;pgt;The latest death of a migrant trying to reach the UK via Calais was discovered late on Thursday night, when the body of a young teenager was found on a Eurotunnel train in Folkestone, Kent.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;According to a statement released by Kent Police, they were called at 4.13am on Friday morning to a report that the body of a male had been discovered on the loading bay of a Eurotunnel train at the Channel Tunnel terminal. quot;Enquiries are on-going to establish the circumstances behind his death,quot; the statement said.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;According to AFP, a further death occurred on Friday morning, when a 23-year-old Eritrean woman was hit by a car on the A16 in Calais at an exit quot;allowing cargo onto a lt;a href=quot;http://www.english.rfi.fr/economy/20150724-two-more-migrants-die-attempt-cross-channel-francequot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;terminallt;/agt;quot; at the Channel Tunnel. The Calais police were unavailable to confirm the circumstances surrounding the death.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;There are now around 5,000 migrants camping in makeshift sites around Calais. Earlier this month, a lt;a href=quot;https://www.newsweek.com/migrant-found-dead-channel-tunnel-329905quot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;migrant diedlt;/agt; after trying to jump onto a freight shuttle train on the French side, and last month another Eritrean died while trying to board a UK-bound train at Coquelles, near Calais.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;According to the migrant watchdog group, lt;a href=quot;https://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com/deaths-at-the-calais-border/quot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;Calais Migrant Solidaritylt;/agt;, 17 migrants died trying to reach the UK in 2014, and seven have died so far this year. In one case last year, a migrant was killed when he jumped from a motorway bridge onto a moving lorry; in another case, two died when the lorry they were hiding in caught on fire.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Maya Konforti, from the French local aid group l#039;Auberge des Migrants, told Newsweek that migrants at Calais are increasingly taking greater risks to reach the UK. quot;They are taking greater risks, trying to get on to the trains directly which is dangerous because of all the electrical cables,quot; she says.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;There have also been lt;a href=quot;http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33584706quot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;reportslt;/agt; of migrants trying to swim across the Channel, in some instances using lt;a href=quot;http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/31/immigration.immigrationandpublicservicesquot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;inflatable liloslt;/agt; to attempt the perilous journey. According to research by Norway#039;s lt;emgt;lt;a href=quot;http://www.dagbladet.no/spesial/vatdraktmysteriet/eng/quot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;Dagbladetlt;/agt; lt;/emgt;newspaper, two bodies in wetsuits were discovered—one on the Norwegian coast, one on the Netherlands coast—earlier this year, having attempted to make the journey last November. They were identified as Mouaz al-Balkhi and Shadi Omar Kataf, from Syria, last month. Both made clear to their families their intention to travel from France to Britain.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;According to Konforti, the two men were most likely trying to swim across the port to try and climb onto the ferry. quot;You cannot swim across the Channel, let alone in November when the water is freezing,quot; she says. quot;Unless you have tremendous training, there#039;s no point even trying.quot;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Don Flynn, director of the Migrants Rights Network tells Newsweek: quot;We#039;re seeing these deaths on a fairly regular basis. It#039;s something that fluctuates between one period of time to the next, and we seem to be at a high point at the moment. Incidents are happening on an all too often basis where people are losing their lives.quot;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;According to Eurotunnel, migrants are prepared to throw themselves on trains travelling at speeds of 90mph, reports the lt;a href=quot;http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33649334quot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;BBClt;/agt;, in order to reach the UK. Hundreds of migrants are targeting the Eurotunnel each night, and their activity is often coordinated by people traffickers.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;quot;It#039;s obviously associated with the fairly chaotic state in Calais at the moment, with the blockade of the port and the opportunities people see arising for trying to get across the Channel,quot; Flynn continues. quot;But it illustrates the wider problem: Europe simply doesn#039;t have functioning immigration policies which coordinate the movements of people across all of its frontiers. All the big countries seem to be trying to be evade their responsibilities.quot;lt;/pgt;