France: Fires scorch 'Jungle' migrant camp as demolition resumes

France: Fires cut through a swathe of the Calais ‘Jungle' yesterday, sending migrants fleeing as French authorities prepared to ramp up demolition of the notorious camp. The blazes spread just hours after workers protected by the police moved in on Tuesday to clear the squalid camp that has been home to an estimated 6,000-8,000 migrants, many with hopes of reaching Britain.

"Our tents were burning. Someone set fire to them, though I don't know who," said Siddiq, a 16-year-old, who was forced by the flames to sleep under a bridge at the camp's entrance. "I have seen many fires before but not like this."

A Syrian man was taken to hospital with injuries to his eardrums after a gas canister exploded in the flames, which ravaged one of the main thoroughfares in the camp.

A local official, however, downplayed the blazes, and said: "It's a tradition among communities who set fire to their homes before leaving."

On Tuesday, workers in hard hats and orange overalls used power saws to reduce shacks to piles of wood and plastic that were removed by diggers.