July 29, 2015 - 14:28 AMT
Eurotunnel blocks 37,000 migrant attempts to reach UK since Jan

Migrants rushed the tunnel linking France and England repeatedly for a second night on Wednesday, July 29, and one man was crushed by a truck in the chaos, deepening tensions surrounding the thousands of people camped in this northern French port city of Calais. Eurotunnel said it had blocked more than 37,000 such attempts by migrants to reach Britain since January, the Associated Press reports.

There were conflicting numbers of people involved Wednesday, ranging from 150 to as many as 1,200. But all agreed there had been about 2,000 attempts on each of two successive nights — numbers have been growing exponentially as has sense of crisis in recent weeks, spurred by new barriers around the Eurotunnel site, labor strife that turned the rails into protest sites for striking workers, and an influx of migrants desperate for a better life.

Many British officials have expressed growing alarm at what they see as a potential influx of foreigners, although it's not clear how many people have successfully made the passage.

Natacha Bouchart, mayor of Calais, told France Info radio on Wednesday that migrants are trying to reach England from France "at all costs" — first crossing a busy highway and then trying to stow away on trucks waiting to board trains. She says Britain, France and the Eurotunnel need to work together on the issue, according to the AP.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking during his visit to Singapore, described the crisis as "very concerning," but that there was no point in "pointing fingers of blame".

The British government has agreed to extra 7 million pounds ($11 million) of funding for measures to improve security at Calais.