A migrant teenager was struck and killed by a freight train while trying to cross over from northern France to Britain through the Channel Tunnel in Calais, France, according to authorities, BBC News reported.

The teenager, believed to be from east Africa - most likely, from Sudan or Eritrea - was found dead near the tracks by rescue workers at approximately 2 a.m. on Thursday, according to The Independent.

A spokesperson for Eurotunnel, the railway company that operates the freight service, confirmed the casualty near the French terminal.

Nearly a dozen people have died since late June trying to reach Britain via the tunnel in hopes for a better life. Security has been beefed up by Britain as well as France at the entrance of the Channel Tunnel, which connects the two countries after repeated attempts have been made to rush the site as a group, according to The Washington Post.

In July, a Sudanese national was crushed by a lorry as he tried to access the Channel Tunnel, as HNGN previously reported.