Aid groups warn kids at risk as Calais camp demolition begins

Teams started dismantling structures housing migrants at a camp in the northern French town of Calais on Tuesday, as human rights organizations warned that hundreds of children were at risk.

The United Nations said around 2,000 migrants voluntarily left the camp known as “The Jungle” on Monday, boarding buses to centers in other parts of France. The operation is expected to take several days.

Save the Children said many of the approximately 1,300 children living there could disappear before they were identified after registration at the camp was halted Monday. It called for the demolition to be stopped immediately and urged British and French authorities to work together to ensure the children’s safety.

France begins emptying 'The Jungle' migrant camp

The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said the camp “is not an environment fit for human habitation.”

It said its workers helped to identify people with special needs, including several hundred unaccompanied children.

“UNHCR has urged that special arrangements be made to ensure the safety and welfare of these children, and that these happen before the site is closed,” the organization said in a statement.

“This is important so that children don't move on to other destinations and risk becoming exploited by human traffickers or end up living on the streets without support.”

Lily Caprani, the deputy executive director for the United Nations Children's Fund in the U.K., said it was unacceptable to start demolishing the structures while children remained in the camp.

"The children waiting to go into converted shipping containers are still in danger and keeping them safe must be the number one priority. There is only one chance for the authorities to get this right and they need more time," she said.

British dentists condemn call for child migrant teeth tests

The camp, home to more than 6,000 migrants mainly from Afghanistan, Sudan and Eritrea, has become a symbol of Europe's migrant and refugee crisis. Many there planned to cross the English Channel to reach Britain. The International Organization for Migration said 328,225 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea so far this year, most of them landing in Italy and Greece.

More than 200 unaccompanied children left Calais for the United Kingdom in recent days, French officials said.