Cargo shuttle fire suspends Chunnel traffic
Published: 29 Nov 2012 17:26 GMT+01:00 | Print version
Updated: 29 Nov 2012 17:26 GMT+01:00
Traffic in the Channel tunnel linking Britain and France was suspended for two hours on Thursday after a fire on a cargo shuttle that caused no injuries, its operator Eurotunnel said.
Traffic was interrupted between 1 and 3pm, Eurotunnel's director for operational communications Yves Szrama told AFP.
The fire was detected around 1300 GMT after it broke out on a cargo shuttle carrying 29 trucks as it travelled towards France and was about seven kilometres (four miles) from the tunnel's exit.
"The convoy was led out of the tunnel on an emergency lane, where it was met by firefighters," Szrama said.
"Only one truck and its cargo was destroyed."
He said none of the 36 people aboard the shuttle, including truck drivers and Eurotunnel staff, were injured.
Four trains on the Eurostar passenger link, carrying about 2,000 passengers in total, were blocked as a result of the fire, two outside the tunnel in Britain and two outside the tunnel in France.
Today's headlines
Lourdes floods
Lourdes under flood waters in 2012. Photo: Laurent Dard/AFP
The historic Catholic pilgrimage site of Lourdes in south west France was evacuated on Tuesday after flash floods hit the area. Management at the shrine have told The Local they are growing increasingly concerned as waters continue to rise.
READ () »
Opinion - Smacking
Photo: Screengrab/Youtube/Fondation pour l'Enfance
As a provocative new anti-smacking video campaign by the Fondation pour l'Enfance (Foundation for Childhood) causes a stir in France, the man behind the drive Dr. Gilles Lazimi tells The Local why France needs a law banning parents from smacking their kids.
READ () »
Karim Benzema (left) with French team mate Franck Ribery (right) and Zahia Dehar the former call girl at the centre of the scandal. Photo: Franck Fife/AFP / ZahiaOfficiel
French football stars Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema, went on trial on Tuesday, accused of paying to have sex with then underage call-girl Zahia Dehar. The process was adjourned until January, however, on a legal technicality.
READ () »
Photo: AW Sheffield
The Eiffel Tower in Paris was evacuated by police on Tuesday after a man threatened to throw himself off the famous monument. Reports suggest, however, that emergency services personnel have succeeded in apprehending the man.
READ () »
Admiral Lord Nelson. Photo: Ell Brown
These words are not the latest outburst by notorious French basher, London's Mayor Boris Johnson, but were the opinion of Britain’s Napoleonic War hero Admiral Lord Nelson, whose outspoken views were revealed in a letter, auctioned in London this week.
READ () »
A pregnant Muslim woman who was allegedly attacked in the suburbs of Paris by two ‘skinheads’ for wearing an Islamic face veil has suffered a miscarriage, it was reported on Tuesday.
READ () »
Johnny Hallyday (L), Serge Gainsbourg (R). French music icons whose impersonators' bizarre feud turned bloody. Photo: Georges Biard/Claude Truong-Ngoc
A court in north-eastern France on Tuesday sentenced to jail an impersonator to French music icon Serge Gainsbourg for stabbing a rival tribute act for French rock star Johnny Hallyday, amid a bizarre feud between the pair.
READ () »
Guards patrol a prison in Marseille. This week, official figures revealed the number of prisoners incarcerated in France has reached an all-time high. Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP
France has more inmates behind bars than ever before, it was revealed this week, prompting hundreds of prison guards to assemble in front of more than 100 jails on Tuesday, in protest against over-crowding and safety concerns.
READ () »
Photo: Bruce Guenter
Much of the west and south west of France remained on alert on Tuesday with storms and heavy rain expected to hit the region, just a day after hailstorms wreaked havoc for wine growers in one part of the country.
READ () »
France hit back at comments made by Jean Manuel Barroso, the President of the EU Commission. Photo: Patrick Hertzog/AFP
France angrily hit back on Monday at accusations that its bid to protect Europe's film and television industries from Hollywood dominance was "reactionary".
READ () »
.jpg&mode=resize&size=300x200)
Your comments about this article:
The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.