UK to Hold Cobra Emergency Meeting on Calais Migrant Crisis Wednesday

Earlier, Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK government will cooperate with France and do everything possible to resolve the crisis.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — UK Home Secretary Theresa May will chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee Wednesday morning, following a major security breach at the Channel Tunnel linking the United Kingdom with France, The Daily Mail reported.

According to media reports, on Tuesday night some 1,500 migrants attempted to storm the Channel Tunnel in Calais to flee to the United Kingdom. One migrant, a Sudanese man in his late 20s, was crushed to death by a lorry, becoming the ninth person to die in the Channel Tunnel since the beginning of July. On Monday night, over 2,000 migrants reportedly attempted to gain access to the tunnel.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday that he was "very concerned" with the Calais crisis and that the UK government would do everything in its power to tackle it.

Earlier in July, British authorities confirmed plans to build a new $11-million 1.2-mile fence at the Eurotunnel site at Coquelles.

The Channel Tunnel is a 31.4-mile rail tunnel between Folkestone, Kent, in the United Kingdom and Coquelles, near Calais, in northern France. According to the French Interior Ministry, Calais currently houses some 3,000 migrants, mainly from North African countries.