CALAIS: Traffic along the Channel Tunnel connecting Britain and France was disrupted on Friday night when dozens of migrants attempted to enter restricted areas of the tunnel in Calais, officials said.

“From 10:30pm, around 150 migrants attempted to enter the platforms,” a spokesman for the Pas-de-Calais prefecture in northern France said.

The spokesman said traffic was interrupted, with long queues of cars forming, but a journalist said it resumed around two hours later.

The migrants “seek to cross the Channel by any means”, a Eurotunnel spokesman said, adding that the tunnel “suffers from attempted intrusions every night”.

“We have adapted our transport system to ensure the best level of security and keep our trains running,” the spokesman added.

Around 3,000 migrants are currently camped out around Calais in northern France and are trying to cross the Channel into Britain.

The crisis topped the political agenda again in the past fortnight as ferry worker protests at the port led to many migrants breaking into stationary vehicles.

France and Britain signed an agreement last September, creating a fund of five million euros ($5.6 million) per year to help Calais cope with the influx of migrants.

The money was supposed to go to reinforcing security around the port and access to the Channel Tunnel.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2015

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