Fire Scare in the Channel Tunnel

This afternoon traffic heading to use the 'Chunnel' would have been seriously delayed due to a fire that broke out on the freight line.

The fire was caused by an overturned lorry and was detected nearly 11 miles into the tunnel from the French Side of the Channel Tunnel. Every one was evacuated safely through the service tunnel although there are reports that up to 30 people have been treated for smoke inhalation.

CNN have recently reported on the incident as follows;

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A fire broke out on a freight train Thursday as it traveled in the tunnel under the English Channel, halting all passenger and freight services.

The Channel Tunnel has freight and passengers trains running through it.

Eurotunnel confirmed a number of people were injured. French police told the UK's Press Association they suffered smoke inhalation, but could not confirm whether they needed hospital treatment.

A spokesman for French police in Arras added the fire is thought to have begun on a lorry which overturned. It is unclear if the fire has been contained.

People inside the 50-kilometer (30-mile) tunnel, known as the Chunnel, were evacuated through a service tunnel that runs between the two train-carrying tunnels, Eurotunnel officials said.

Police in Kent, England, said the fire broke out 11 kilometers from the French entrance to the tunnel at about 3.55 p.m. French time (1355 GMT).

Kent police added that the French fire service dealt with the fire.

Eurotunnel said 32 people were aboard the shuttle train transporting trucks when the fire broke out.

No passenger trains were going through the tunnel at the time of the fire, they said.

The Channel Tunnel system has two tunnels running trains and the third service tunnel between them. Eurotunnel runs the tunnel system and freight train services. Eurostar operates the passenger trains that use the tunnel.A spokeswoman for Eurostar said none of the company's trains was in the tunnel at the time of the incident.

She said: "We have got services on both sides of the tunnel and they have been stopped. They are at various stations on either side of the tunnel. We are looking at what to do with them."
The $15 billion undersea tunnel opened in 1994 and it now takes just over two hours for the trip from London to Paris. There are also passenger services to Brussels, Belgium

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/09/11/tunnel.fire/?iref=mpstoryview