Driver killed in fiery crash at Calais migrant roadblock
CALAIS, France: A driver died early yesterday near the northern French port of Calais as his van burst into flames after slamming into a truck stopped by a migrants’ roadblock, police said.
The Polish-registered van struck one of three trucks blocked by the log barrier at around 3.45am.
The driver has not yet been identified “given the state of the body,” a police source said.
It was the first death of a driver since the migrant crisis at France’s Channel ports began in 2014, although there have been numerous fatalities among migrants seeking to hitch a ride to Britain by train and truck.
A police source said nine Eritrean migrants found in one of the trucks have been detained.
They could face charges of manslaughter, impeding traffic and endangering the lives of others.
Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said he would head to Calais shortly, adding: “We cannot allow this illegality to continue.”
Those responsible “must be taken to court ( because) whether you are a migrant or French, you must obey French law,” he added.
Two trucker associations called on local and national authorities to “take the most appropriate steps to deal with these problems and avoid a new tragedy.”
David Sagnard of the National Road Transport Federation said in a statement: “We warned that this could happen, and it has happened. It’s now urgent for the police presence to be reinforced.”
The UNSA police union called Calais ‘a zone of anarchy’, pointing the finger at local authorities and aid groups.
Before Calais’ infamous ‘Jungle’ camp was closed last October, migrants desperate to reach Britain as stowaways on trucks frequently set up makeshift roadblocks, usually at night, to slow cross- Channel traffic.
The squalid settlement was home to up to 10,000 at its height.
Between 400 and 600 migrants are today thought to be living in the Calais area in precarious conditions in the hope of reaching Britain. — AFP