FOLKESTONE, KENT, England, July 23 (UPI) — British police were again reminded Thursday of Europe’s immigration crisis when they discovered the body of a young man on top of a commuter train headed from France to Britain, authorities said.
The body was discovered after the train arrived in the town of Folkestone, though investigators believe he likely died shortly after climbing atop in France. The teen was believed to be a migrant seeking to live in Britain.
Investigators were not immediately certain of the man’s identity or exactly when or how he died, but officials think he was dead for most of the trip and that his body had been carried through the Eurotunnel train before it was finally spotted early Thursday.
“Inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances behind his death,” a Kent police spokesman said in a report by the Guardian.
Thursday’s discovery follows a rash of other incidents involving migrants traveling across Europe, including one earlier this month in which three people were injured after officials say they broke into the train’s tunnel and tried to stow away.
“They try [to] jump on to the moving vehicles. That carries a huge risk because the trains move fast and the risk of being hit are considerable,” a Eurotunnel spokesman previously said. “What looks like a slow-moving train can be travelling much faster than you would think. But these people are prepared to risk a great deal, even their lives, to get to the UK. It’s a very difficult situation.”
Police believe the teenager had boarded the train in Calais, in northern France, and ended up on a loading bay on the shuttle.
Eurotunnel officials have already posted multiple warnings against stowing away at the train station in Calais, the Telegraph reported.
Wednesday, the Channel Tunnel authority requested an extra $10 million in operating capital to offset the increased costs of security triggered by the migrant crisis.
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