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Calais
port puts operations on hold after crowd of migrants breaks in,
attempts to board ferry
RT,
23
January, 2016
Some
200 migrants have broken into the port of Calais in, northern France,
with several of them boarding the front deck of a British ferry,
media reported. The port has put its operations on hold warning of
delays to ferry services.
"A
demonstration in Calais has drawn around 2,000 people and in the end
around 200 people entered the port, with approximately 50 of them
boarding a ferry, the 'Spirit of Britain', on an external deck,"
deputy Calais prefect Denis Gaudin told Reuters.
DFDS Seaways Updates
The Port of Calais has been temporarily closed due to a migrant invasion, as soon as they are cleared the Port will re-open
He
added that some of the migrants agreed to leave the vehicle
voluntarily while the others would be removed by police, who is ready
to use force.
According
to some reports, migrants failed to board the boat as the staff
managed to block all the doors.
P&O Ferries Updates
Port of Calais is still resolving a security incident.As a result our vessels are delayed until such time as given the all clear to load.1/2
The
Spirit of Britain vessel belongs to P&O Ferries who also
confirmed the incident on their official Twitter warning of delays in
the service.
The
incident followed a pro-refugee rally organized by French leftists
which gathered about 2,000 people. The activists carried banners
reading “refugees welcome here” and said that an increased
security presence in the Calais region is a threat to migrants’
lives.
The
demonstration came as British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn visited the
Calais Jungle and Grande-Synthe (Dunkirk) refugee camps. The British
politician expressed his concern with living conditions in the
refugee camps and said that the refugee crisis is caused by wars and
conflicts.
“What
I'm trying to achieve here is to understand the nature of the refugee
crisis that's facing the whole of Europe. Ultimately we deal with the
situation by dealing with the problem at its source, which are the
wars and conflicts,” Corbyn said as cited by the Independent.
“We
have got people here who have been here for months, if not longer
than that, with no proper education, no access to doctors, no access
to dentists, limited access to food - in very cold, very wet
conditions. These conditions are a disgrace anywhere. We as human
beings have to reach out to fellow human beings,” he added.
The
refugee camp known as “Jungle” was established in Calais last
year. Up to six thousand migrants and refugees live in the camp for
months at a time, hoping to cross the English Channel to seek asylum
in Great Britain which seems for them a better place to start new
life than France.
The
UK, however, is not so eager to accept their many attempt to cross
the channel illegally – primarily through the Eurotunnel. Since the
eruption of the migrant crisis in Calais in June, dozens have died in
or near the tunnel.
French
officials have recently started to demolish a part of the refugee
camp to create a “buffer zone” between the Jungle and the highway
in order to protect thousands of lorries from migrants.
Calais On Lockdown After 100s Of
Migrants Storm UK-Bound Ferry
Update: 35
ppl arrested, including 24 refugees after storming ferry at Calais
port Via @BFMTV
* *
*
Coinciding
with UK's Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn's arrival at the French refugee
camps, Sky
News reports the port
of Calais has been temporarily closed as 100s of migrants stormed on
to a ship in the hope of reaching the UK. About
50 migrants are thought to have made their way on to a P&O-operated
vessel called Spirit of Britain, and police are at the scene and
have reportedly
deployed water cannons to
break up the crowds of protesters.
DFDS
Seaways tweeted: "The
Port of Calais has been temporarily closed due to a migrant invasion,
as soon as they are cleared the Port will re-open."
The
shut-down follows a protest march in support of the migrants that was
reportedly attended by 2,000 people.
Authorities
in France said a group of 500 people illegally forced their way
through barriers and police lines, 150 migrants were able to get into
the cordoned-off area.
A
statement from the Port of Dover said: "The
Port of Calais is currently experiencing migrant activity which has
caused disruption to ferry services. Therefore services to and from
Calais via the Port of Dover are affected."
The
latest incident coincides
with Jeremy Corybn's visit to the migrant camps in Calais and
Dunkirk where
thousands of people are sleeping rough - his first foreign trip as
Labour leader.
He
said the conditions would be a "disgrace anywhere" - and
that thousands of people were living in a "sea of mud".
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