Nineteen people were injured on Thursday evening when a minibus collided with a freight train on the Eurotunnel platform, French authorities said. Among the injured were 18 passengers and the driver, the Pas-de-Calais prefecture's Agathe Cury said.
Two people, including the driver, sustained serious injuries and were taken by helicopter to the University Hospital in Lille. The remaining 17 injured were distributed to hospitals in Helfaut, Calais, Boulogne, Montreuil-sur-Mer and Dunkirk. Cury stated that "there is no danger to anyone's life".
The minibus was transporting truck drivers who were heading towards the shuttle train through the tunnel. Cury stated that an investigation into the cause of the accident had been launched and that the minibus, "for unknown reasons as yet", had struck the shuttle "as it was departing". Around 200 emergency service personnel and other staff were deployed to the scene.
The Pas-de-Calais prefecture stated that the accident occurred on the loading platform at the Eurotunnel site and that Eurotunnel had immediately deployed significant resources, which were then placed under the authority of the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais department. According to initial reports, 19 people were involved in the accident, including the driver, and at that time there were no fatalities and no lives were in danger.
The shuttle service through the tunnel was suspended for 90 minutes before resuming gradually in the late evening, authorities said. Eurostar reported that the incident was not expected to affect its service. In a status update, they stated that the incident occurred several kilometres from the Channel Tunnel and did not involve or affect Eurostar trains operating between London and other destinations, with the note that all Eurostar trains would operate as planned.
Local media outlet La Voix du Nord published a photo showing the heavily damaged minibus on the platform, with police officers and staff in reflective vests at the scene. The tunnel was opened in 1994, and last year 3.4 million vehicles passed through it along with millions of Eurostar passengers.
