Fifteen people were stabbed during fighting between Kurdish and Afghan refugees seeking asylum in Britain who were housed at a Red Cross camp near Calais yesterday.

Three victims were taken to hospital with serious knife injuries after the violence was quelled by French police.

There have been almost daily scuffles recently between Kurds and Afghans at the shelter at Sangatte, which houses about 900 refugees waiting for an opportunity to enter Britain illegally. The shelter is just over a mile from the mouth of the Channel Tunnel.

The tunnel's operating company, Eurotunnel, called yesterday for the camp to be closed and the refugees to be moved further away. About 200 refugees a night try to penetrate Eurotunnel's defences and board Folkestone-bound freight shuttles. Four have been killed since the start of this year. Eurotunnel, which recently spent £3m on higher fences and extra security guards, complains that it is losing business because of delays to its trains.

The cause of yesterday's battle, which caused serious damage to the camp, is unclear. An Afghan claimed that a gang of Kurds had tried to lynch him. In the ensuing fight, which broke out at 4am, 100 Afghans – men, women and children – were driven from the centre by Kurds armed with knives, sticks and stones. The French riot police, the Compagnié Republicaine de Sécurité, were called in to protect the Afghans.

Thirty found shelter at a nearby farmhouse converted into a holiday cottage. The others were still missing yesterday afternoon.

French government officials tried to mediate between the two communities yesterday. The sous-préfet (senior government representative) in Calais, Michel Heuzé, said it was "essential that everyone learns to get on together at Sangatte".