French police are investigating a Portuguese truck driver who died last Sunday night at a service station near Calais, France, after alleged clashes with three migrants who were herded into the back of a truck to cross the border. with the United Kingdom.
The incident took place at the Epitre service station, which is a regular stopover for many drivers crossing the Channel Tunnel or the Port of Calais. The Portuguese driver allegedly forced three migrants, who hid inside the car, to get out of the truck so as not to cross the border illegally.
According to French media reports, the 48-year-old Portuguese man was attacked by three men, who then entered the cab of a truck and eventually suffered a heart attack. The driver was rescued at the scene but eventually died after receiving help from firefighters. The migrants fled the scene and the situation was reported to the authorities by a second truck driver, also Portuguese.
Police are now investigating the case as they have already found out that the Portuguese driver had informed the authorities about the presence of migrants in his truck before the incident that led to his death.
In 2021 alone, more than 22,000 people arrived in the UK on small boats from France that crossed the English Channel near Calais. Other migrants try to cross the border by boarding trucks crossing the English Tunnel or crossing into British soil, jumping on moving cars or erecting barricades to slow down and get on the trucks.
There are currently 1,000 to 1,500 migrants in the Calais area trying to cross the border into the UK.
