Channel tunnel attack dismissed as publicity stunt

The attempt by asylum seekers to storm the Channel tunnel entrance in France was today dismissed as a publicity stunt and a mayor asked for their refugee camp near Calais to be closed down.

‘‘This is a well-constructed media operation,’’ said Alain Bertrand, a Eurotunnel executive. ‘‘They knew very well that they would never make it to England.’’

Sangatte mayor Andre Segard called for the Red Cross centre to be closed. He said violence has become more frequent among the refugees while fear has risen among residents of the town.

‘‘A new aggressiveness and violence has appeared among the refugees at the Sangatte camp,’’ Segard said.

‘‘Families won’t let their children go out alone in the streets, last summer the town’s camp sites recorded a decline in visits and real estate agents say buyers are avoiding Sangatte.’’

Hundreds of refugees living in the overcrowded centre on Christmas evening to plot their risky escape route to Britain.

The plans made, some ate dinner two or three times to store up energy for the journey on foot through the Channel tunnel.

The attempted mass exodus ended yesterday with clouds of tear gas as police dispersed some refugees and hunted down others in the tunnel.

The incident highlighted the fate of 1,300 Iraqi Kurds, Afghans, Iranians and other refugees holed up indefinitely in the northern French village.

In more than a dozen interviews, refugees explained their plan and vowed to continue trying to reach Britain, drawn there by its relatively liberal asylum laws and dreams of new homes and jobs.

In all, about 550 refugees from the Red Cross centre attempted the crossing in two waves beginning on Tuesday night. Such a large-scale attempt is rare, but not unprecedented. The refugees were trying to take advantage of the reduced traffic on Christmas Day.

‘‘We decided to form two groups A and B,’’ said Ahmed, a 23-year-old Afghan refugee. ‘‘We thought we could cross all together by foot. We had almost managed, but at the very end the police stopped us.’’

Another Afghan refugee, Zia, said the plan was to launch the assault just after dinnertime. ‘‘Some of us ate dinner two or three times, just to have enough energy to cross,’’ the 24-year-old said.

The melee began at 2015 Irish time on Tuesday, when 150 refugees broke through electronic barriers. Overwhelmed security forces called in French police, who tracked them down and arrested 129 of them. The refugees had managed to get one-quarter of the way through the 31 mile) tunnel.

‘‘We ran and walked for three hours inside the tunnel,’’ said Ali, an Iraqi Kurd, who said he found it difficult to breathe inside.

Just before 1am yesterday a new group of about 400 - ‘‘Group B,’’ according to the refugees - tried to storm the same entrance. Police used tear gas to repel them.

Every night, dozens of refugees who live in mobile homes and tents at Sangatte attempt the dangerous crossing, trying either to jump on trains or navigate the tunnel on foot. Most are caught, but others make it through.

The Sangatte centre, set up in an unused Eurotunnel building in 1999, was intended to house 700 refugees but now holds about 1,300.

Eurotunnel has long demanded that the French government dismantle the Sangatte centre. But France is instead setting up more centres in northern France to ease the burden at Sangatte.

Red Cross officials say about 500 to 600 new refugees arrive each week. Each stays only about five to six weeks on average before leaving to other European locations.

Eurotunnel says it intercepted about 18,500 refugees trying to cross the tunnel in the first half of 2001 alone.

As calm returned to the camp, a group of 200 refugees stood around the centre’s only television set, applauding the evening news.

‘‘We saw ourselves this morning on TV and again tonight on the news,’’ said an elated 24-year-old Afghan named Rassoul.