Police investigate rail tunnel fire in southern UK

Police opened an investigation yesterday after a fire in a section of the Channel Tunnel rail link killed one person and seriously injured another.

More than 50 fire-fighters were called to the blaze on Tuesday evening on a construction train in a section of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), a 109-kilometre line, in Kent, southeast of London on Tuesday.

A spokesman for Kent police said they were still investigating the scene but said it would take some time as the fire was in the middle of a tunnel and difficult to examine.

Fire-fighters were called to the scene shortly after 7.15 p.m. on Tuesday.

"One person has been killed and another has been taken to hospital with burns," a Kent police spokesman said.

A CTRL spokeswoman said it was too early to say if the tunnel had been damaged or if work would be disrupted, the spokeswoman added.

The Channel Tunnel Rail Link is one of Britain's biggest engineering projects. It is due to open in 2007 when it will carry high-speed trains between St Pancras station in central London and the Channel Tunnel in 35 minutes.

A spokesman for Eurostar, which operates passenger trains in the sub-sea link, said the fire had not affected its services.