Migrant electrocuted on Eurostar train roof

A MAN identified as a migrant has died after being electrocuted while climbing on top of a Eurostar train in Paris bound for London.

The unnamed individual suffered fatal injuries when he came into contact with the live wire above the stationary train at Gare du Nord last Thursday, according to police sources.

Security footage showed the man crossing tracks from another platform at about 10pm local time, before suffering the electric shock.

Le Parisien reported that his body had burst into flames on contact with the live wire. He died at the scene half an hour later, prosecutors in Paris said.

Police confirmed that while they were convinced the man was a migrant, the condition of his body after the electric shock did not allow for more precise identification.

The incident was reported to have caused disruption to Eurostar services.

Prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into the circumstances of the death, which will be led by border police at the Gare du Nord.

Eurostar trains leaving the station link Paris with Brussels and Amsterdam, as well as London via the Channel Tunnel.

The death comes after Paris and London said last week they would step up efforts to prevent irregular crossings by migrants to the UK, most of which are by small boats across the Channel.

The last time a migrant died from electrocution after attempting to stow away on top of a Eurostar train was in 2017.

While the number of migrants crossing the Channel in trucks and on trains is thought to have fallen in recent years as a result of tighter security, small boat crossings have rocketed.