MOSCOW (Sputnik) — An Eritrean migrant from the Calais camp in northern France died overnight after being run over by a UK-bound truck, local media reported Monday.
The man and a woman in her 30s were hit by a heavy truck as it swerved to avoid objects placed in its way by a group of some 50 refugees in an attempt to slow it down, according to a local daily newspaper, La Voix du Nord.
Both were taken to a hospital in the port city of Calais. The man succumbed to his wounds soon after, while the woman was only lightly injured, the outlet said.
The driver was attacked by the migrants, who "spontaneously presented himself to the border police" near the Channel Tunnel, the newspaper cited the Calais prefecture as saying in a statement. An investigation has been launched into the road accident.
Refugees have been erecting barricades on the road to the Channel Tunnel in a desperate attempt to jump transport traveling to the United Kingdom. The number of attacks on traffic rose after reports of an upcoming operation to clear the refugee camp, with nine fatalities since the start of the year.
