A young Eritrean migrant trying to reach England died early Tuesday morning (February 4) on a freeway in northwest France, news agency AFP reported, citing information from the French prefecture.
At around 05:15, "a lorry driver of Portuguese nationality" stopped his truck after spotting someone on the side of the A16 freeway, according to AFP citing the Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor's office.
After the driver discovered the victim's body, he reportedly informed the authorities. An investigation into the cause of death has been opened, according to AFP.
As of early afternoon on Wednesday, the exact cause of death wasn't clear since at least five different media outlets published partially conflicting information. FranceInfo, for instance, said the victim fell off the truck, whereas France Bleu and Le Figaro said he was hit by a truck. And according to RTBF, the migrant died from being crushed by the cargo inside the truck when the driver lost control of the vehicle.
The incident reportedly marks the fourth death of a migrant in the Calais region in the first five weeks of 2025. Among the other migrants who died this year was a 19-year-old Syrian who was reportedly crushed to death in a leaking dinghy while trying to cross the English Channel from France to the UK; and a young Yemeni whose body was found on a Calais beach.
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Precarious situation
In Calais, hundreds of migrants are living in makeshift camps in increasingly harsh conditions. They are waiting to attempt the dangerous Channel crossing to Britain -- despite growing controls present at the British-French border.
Since French and British authorities ramped up measures around the port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel, attempts to enter these sites "have virtually disappeared", AFP reported citing a statement by the prefect from a few months ago.
Yet hundreds of migrants still try to board trucks going north every year, according to AFP.
For the most part, migrants have turned to clandestine sea crossings aboard unseaworthy boats.
According to AFP citing the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, at least 77 migrants died in 2024 trying to reach England on board small boats, more than three times the number in 2023 and a record since this type of crossing began in 2018.
Still, over 36,000 migrants reached the UK last year, 25 percent more than in 2023, when close to 30,000 migrants managed to do the same.
with AFP
