LONDON — For one African migrant, there was nothing left to lose.
Mr. Haroun, who news reports said is Sudanese and has no fixed address, was charged this week with obstructing engines or carriages on a railway under the Malicious Damage Act of 1861. He is expected to appear at Canterbury Crown Court on Aug. 24.
The migrant, Abdul Rahman Haroun, 40, risked his life this week by climbing four fences, evading around 400 security cameras and international search teams, and walking about 30 miles underground in the darkness of the Channel Tunnel in an effort to reach England from near Calais, France. He dodged trains traveling to London from Paris as they hurtled by at up to 100 miles per hour.
He became on Tuesday what the authorities said was the first migrant to walk nearly the entire length of the Channel Tunnel. Officials at Eurotunnel, which operates the crossing, said that Mr. Haroun had been close to the other side of the tunnel, in Folkestone, England, when he was arrested.
Britain and France are grappling with a spiraling migration crisis in which thousands of desperate migrants have tried to cross the channel in recent weeks by cutting through fences and stowing away in trucks or other vehicles. On Friday, the United Nations called on France to draw up a “civil emergency” plan to accommodate the thousands of people living in makeshift camps in Calais.
Romain Dufour, a spokesman for Eurotunnel, said by telephone on Friday that the company was investigating how Mr. Haroun had entered the tunnel undetected, despite heightened security.
“It is illegal and very dangerous to attempt to enter the tunnel, and a person can be seriously injured or killed,” Mr. Dufour said. “Mr. Haroun could now face prison, and he will likely not be able to get asylum. He has lost everything.”
Mr. Dufour said that Mr. Haroun had left Calais around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
An alert had been put in place overnight after hundreds of migrants tried to enter the Eurotunnel terminal, Mr. Dufour said, but Mr. Haroun was nevertheless able to make his way toward England.
Three tunnels cross the channel: two that are used by trains, and a smaller service tunnel. Mr. Haroun used the southern rail crossing, Eurotunnel said.
With security personnel on alert, Mr. Dufour said that traffic was halted in a roughly 10-mile stretch of the tunnel, and that inspectors searched the tunnel and sealed the entrance on the French side.
Police officers scoured the area for intruders, leading to two-hour delays for some passengers. A “test” train was also sent at a slow speed to inspect the tunnel, he said.