Shuttle Train Triggers Chunnel Fire, 32 Treated for Smoke Inhalation
A major fire in the Channel tunnel closed the Anglo-French rail link on Thursday afternoon, 11 September. Thirty two passengers in a burning truck shuttle train were evacuated, some ill with smoke inhalation. By Friday, emergency crews extinguished the fire, which occurred 11 km from the French portal.
More than 150 firefighters from both countries fought the flames in the French-bound train, thought to have started in a truck. No news was available on the tunnel’s condition. A similar fire 12 years ago damaged about 500 meters of tunnel, and triggered a four-month investigation and repair program that cost roughly $70 million.