Story highlights
At least 14 people have been killed trying to illegally cross the Channel Tunnel this year
It runs 50 kilometers (31 miles) from northern France to southeastern England
A freight train killed an Eritrean man in the French part of the Eurotunnel on Wednesday, authorities said, as Europe struggles with its largest migration since the end of World War II.
“Around 1 a.m., a 20-year-old migrant of Eritrean origin was hit by a freight train at the maintenance terminal in the French part of the Eurotunnel site,” said Steve Barbet, head of communications for France’s Nord Pas de Calais.
“Emergency response units arrived at 1:15 a.m. and found his body.”
The Channel Tunnel runs 50 kilometers (31 miles) from a point near Calais, in northern France, to Folkestone in southeastern England.
Dodging security, trains
The man’s death adds up to at least 14 people killed while trying to illegally make it across the tunnel this year.
Last month, a Sudanese migrant was arrested for allegedly walking 31 miles through the pitch-dark tunnel from France to Britain, dodging tight security and high-speed trains along the way.
Fleeing conflict in Africa, Mideast
Numerous people fleeing conflicts and poverty in the Middle East and North Africa gather near the French entrance to the channel tunnel, hoping to find their way into the UK.
CNN’s Noisette Martel in Paris and Journalist Ossama Elshamy in London contributed to this report.