Illegal immigrants injured at Channel Tunnel

FOLKESTONE, England -- Several alleged illegal immigrants have been injured after trying to enter Britain through the Channel tunnel.

They were found on the tracks near the Channel Tunnel terminal site at Folkestone, Kent. At least one was seriously injured.

All are believed to have travelled earlier on an international freight train.

In a statement, tunnel operating firm Eurotunnel said all the injured had been taken to the William Harvey hospital, in nearby Ashford.

The company said the Eurostar international passenger train services between London and Paris and Brussels had been briefly suspended for "routine" checks.

A spokeswoman said no train was involved in the incident, which happened at about 8:00 a.m. local time (0700GMT) on Friday.

A Kent Police spokeswoman confirmed that between 12 and 15 illegal immigrants had been arrested.

"We're searching the track for any further suspected illegal immigrants after a group of 12 to 15 were found this morning," the spokeswoman said.

"Three of those found were injured. Two with minor injuries and one more seriously."

She added: "We're not sure what happened, if they jumped or if they fell from the train or how they came to be injured."

In June, 58 suspected asylum-seekers were found dead by Kent customs officials in the back of a refrigerated truck carrying tomatoes via ferry from Belgium.

A customs officer based at the Channel port of Dover found the bodies of the Chinese nationals behind a false wall in the back of the truck. Post-mortem examinations found that all had suffocated.

Reuters contributed to this report.

58 found dead in Britain after clandestine Channel crossing
June 19, 2000

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