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Fire shuts Channel Tunnel traffic | |
(10 minutes later) | |
Train traffic through the Channel Tunnel, which links England and France, has been suspended in both directions following a fire, officials said. | |
No-one was injured in the blaze that began at 1400 GMT in a freight train about 11km (7 miles) from the French entrance, the operator Eurotunnel said. | |
Some 32 people - all of them said to be lorry drivers - were evacuated through a service tunnel. | Some 32 people - all of them said to be lorry drivers - were evacuated through a service tunnel. |
French firefighters have now brought the blaze under control. | French firefighters have now brought the blaze under control. |
The freight shuttle was travelling from Folkestone to Calais. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. | |
"A train is now on its way from France to pick up the people from the service tunnel and take them back to France," a UK police spokesman said. | |
The French train company SNCF said services would not resume until Friday. | The French train company SNCF said services would not resume until Friday. |
Security exercises are staged in the Channel Tunnel by police, fire and ambulance services from both England and France to ensure preparedness for such an incident. | |
In four months in 2007 Eurotunnel carried more than 340,000 lorries and 2.2 million passengers. | |
Have you been affected by this incident? Were you due to travel through the Channel Tunnel today? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below: | Have you been affected by this incident? Were you due to travel through the Channel Tunnel today? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below: |
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