A tractor-trailer was reduced to ashes and its driver badly beaten by a gang of 50 migrants who had set a fiery ambush on a French motorway near Calais, according to reports.
The Bulgarian trucker had attempted to ram through a blockade of flaming pallets erected by migrants on the ring road near Calais, a port hub for many trucks and passenger vehicles traveling to and from the UK.
The driver was taken to hospital after being assaulted by the migrants while he was trying to escape the truck, La Voix Du Nord reports.
Calais: environ 50 migrants ont mis le feu a un barrage sur la rocade portuaire direction Car Ferry. Un camion est en feu. Les pompiers interviennent. pic.twitter.com/NSOrlVlCAO
— UNSA Police CRS Hauts de France (@unsadh) January 8, 2019
Truck catches fire attempting to avoid road blockade in #Calais
— Intelligence Fusion - Europe (@IF_europe) January 8, 2019
- Migrants blocked road with burning pallets
- Driver assaulted & taken to hospital#France #Logistics #Trucking pic.twitter.com/Xx5H9ZFjX7
Some social media users shared images of the charred truck and its cargo, which were totally destroyed.
It’s a sobering sight for truck drivers arriving into Calais off the ferry from Dover...the wreckage of a truck torched at a migrant roadblock last night... pic.twitter.com/ZUo6UgpqoI
— Stuart Webb (@Worldwidewebb1) January 8, 2019
"It’s a sobering sight for truck drivers arriving into Calais off the ferry from Dover...the wreckage of a truck torched at a migrant roadblock last night... " wrote ITN Channel 4 News journalist Stuart Webb.
A first (for me at least). Lorry stopped by migrant barricade on #Calais motorway, set alight last night pic.twitter.com/CadpfFmbsZ
— Paraic O'Brien (@paraicobrien) January 8, 2019
"A first (for me at least). Lorry stopped by migrant barricade on #Calais motorway, set alight last night," wrote Channel 4 New reporter Paraic O'Brien.
Migrants attempting to commandeer or stowaway inside trucks bound for the UK have become regular occurrences in the Calais region with videos of brazen hijackings and attacks sometimes caught on video.
Police were unable to locate suspects involved in the most recent incident as all had reportedly fled the scene when authorities arrived.
(PHOTOS: UNSA Police / Twitter)
