A migrant died Wednesday hit by a truck on the port ring road of Calais (Pas-de-Calais), from where some exiles try to board trucks to reach England, we learned from the prosecutor's office and an association.
Firefighters reported intervening at midday on the A216, near an interchange, for a "pedestrian" in cardio-respiratory arrest following a collision with a truck. Despite attempts at resuscitation, he was declared dead, according to the Sdis of Pas-de-Calais.
"Was crossing the highway"
The prosecutor's office in Boulogne-sur-Mer said it was a "migrant" who, "apparently, was crossing the highway when he was hit". The association Utopia 56 also confirmed that the man was an exile, followed by his teams.
Hundreds of migrants live in precarious and regularly evicted camps in Calais and around Dunkirk, hoping to cross into England. According to the association l'Auberge des migrants, at least 500 of them are currently in Calais. "The exiles are not a uniform block, there are different social classes and some have no other means than to attempt the crossing by truck," for lack of money to finance a passage by sea, said the coordinator of the association L'Auberge des migrants, Pierre Roques, solicited by AFP, without having at this stage elements on this death.
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Since 2018, more and more migrants have attempted to cross the Channel on small boats, due to the lockdown of the approaches to the port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel, which mortgage truck crossings.
As after every death at the border between France and the United Kingdom, a rally is to be held in Calais on Thursday at 18:30, to pay tribute to the victim.
Five migrants died at sea, and four were reported missing in 2022, trying to reach the English coast from the northern coast of the France. At least three other exiles died the same year near the coast, trying to get on trucks or trains.
