UK driver kills migrant in collision on Calais motorway
It marks the 14th such death this year
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Your support makes all the difference.A migrant in Calais has died after being hit by a British car on a motorway near the French port.
The man, of Eritrean origin, was taken to hospital following the incident but later died. A woman, said to be his wife, was also injured in the incident.
It marks the 14th instance in which a migrant has died while trying to get to the UK from Calais since the start of 2016.
The collision took place at junction 47 of the A16, where dozens of migrants and refugees from the 'jungle' camp were reportedly trying to mount lorries in an attempt to get to the UK.
A spokesperson for the prefecture of Pas-de-Calais said the incident happened “during an invasion of the road by around 50 migrants who were trying to slow down the traffic by putting different obstacles in the way in attempt to then mount lorries heading to the UK."
Pascal Marconville, the prosecutor in nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer, said the driver stopped to try to rescue the victim but was "violently attacked" by several migrants and "preferred to leave".
The male driver, believed to be British, then reportedly went to the nearest police station and gave a full statement. He is said to have tested negative for alcohol and drugs and was not charged after Mr Marconville ruled the incident was caused by an accident.
Last month a 14-year-old Afghan refugee was killed on a French motorway in Calais while trying to reach his family in Britain.
The French authorities have said the camp is to be demolished "within weeks" and that migrants and refugees will be redistributed in designated reception centres across France.
But concerns are mounting over the lack of organisation ahead of the demolition, with the French Government thought to have underestimated the number of migrants who live in the camp and many French towns who are set to recieved them expressing anger at the plans.
Unicef has recently called on the UK Government to allow unaccompanied child refugees in Calais to come to Britain, expressing its concern over the planned closure of the camp and the risks of children disappearing before they can be processed.
Mr Hollande recently warned the UK that it must “play its part” in resolving the migrant crisis, and that its “sovereign decision” to leave the EU did not excuse the country of its obligations to refugees in Calais.
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