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Britain to provide extra fencing, sniffer dogs in Calais: PM Cameron

Xinhua, August 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

Britain will provide additional fencing and sniffer dogs to help ease the ongoing Calais migrant crisis, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Friday.

Cameron made the pledge after chairing a meeting of the government's emergency committee to discuss the response to the migrant problem.

"The prime minister set out his concern about the impact that repeated illegal migrant incursions into the Eurotunnel is having on both sides of the Channel," a Downing Street spokesperson said after the meeting.

The meeting focused on what more could be done to deal with the immediate security issues on the French side and discussed new measures to help reduce disruptions to local businesses and people.

The British government will further boost security by funding additional fencing to "shore up as much of the perimeter as necessary," and more border force search and dog teams will also be sent in, Downing Street said.

The British Ministry of Defense and the Department for Transport are working with local agencies to create alternative parking zones to alleviate the traffic pressure in the border area.

New powers to tackle illegal working and abuse of the British asylum system will be sped up.

According to earlier reports, a migrant died while trying to cross to Britain from France early on Wednesday, bringing to nine the number of migrants who lost their lives in the tunnel since early June.

A Sudanese man aged between 25 and 30 died in Calais, north France, after being hit by a lorry while trying to cross the Channel tunnel to reach British doors, the French news channel BFMTV reported.

According to Eurotunnel, 1,500 migrants tried to access the tunnel on Tuesday night and 2,000 other attempts were reported the previous night.

Calais, where the French end of the Channel Tunnel is located, has been flooded by growing flows of migrants mainly from Libya, Eritrea, Sudan and Syria who fled war, insecurity and poverty.

Camping out in Calais zone, they are trying to board lorries and trains heading to Britain in hope to find a better life in London.

More than 39,000 attempts to cross the English Channel illegally were prevented in 2014 to 2015, more than double the previous year, official statistics show. Endit