Channel Tunnel closed after fire

A fire on a freight train forced the closure of the undersea Channel Tunnel yesterday, halting all rail traffic, including passenger services, between France and Britain, the tunnel operator said.

No one died in the blaze, which started on a lorry carrying chemicals aboard the train, and all the 32 truck drivers on the shuttle were led to safety.

"There are no deaths. The truck drivers... were evacuated through the service tunnel," Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said.

Officials in northern France said six people were slightly injured after inhaling fumes.

Trains heading towards the tunnel were turned back on both sides of the channel and the Eurostar rail operator said services would not resume until today.

"Everything should be up and running by tomorrow morning. The tunnel has just been closed for safety," said a Eurostar customer representative in Britain.

Eurostar says the Channel Tunnel is the longest undersea subway in the world. The section under the sea is 38-kilometres long. There are two main tunnels plus a third service tunnel which connect the southeast English county of Kent to the Pas-de-Calais region of France.

The French Interior Ministry said the fire started on a lorry carrying phenol, a toxic, flammable product used in various industries. Mr Bussereau said the truck exploded.

French officials said fire crews were still putting out the blaze, but Eurotunnel spokesman Charlotte Brooks told BBC Radio the fire was quickly brought under control.

"At about 3 o'clock UK time there was a fire alarm that was sounded. As standard procedure we had firemen very quickly on site and they discovered there was a fire aboard one of our truck shuttles," she said.

"This was quickly brought under control," she added.

There have been two previous blazes in the tunnel since it was inaugurated in 1994.

In November 1996, a truck caught fire causing one of the two main tunnels to be closed for a month and freight traffic to be halted for seven months. In August 2006, there was another blaze on a truck, but there was no serious damage done.

Eurostar services are handled by France's SNCF railway and Belgium's SNCB on their respective territories while the British arm is owned by London & Continental Railways (LCR).

The British side is managed by a consortium including bus and train operator National Express, SNCF, SNCB and British Airways.