Channel Tunnel fire strands thousands

Published on Thursday 11 September 2008 22:58

THOUSANDS of people were stranded last night after a fire raged in the Channel Tunnel, severing all rail services between Britain and France.

The subsea blaze caused a 30-mile motorway tailback and injured 14 people. It began shortly before 3pm yesterday, on a train carrying lorries seven miles from the French end of the 31-mile tunnel.

It is understood that one of the lorries had overturned, catching fire. A total of 32 people on the train, mainly truckers, were led to safety through a service tunnel after the alarm was raised.

Last night, Patrique Lejein, 50, one of the lorry drivers on the train, told of the "mayhem and panic" as people tried to escape.

Mr Lejein, a Belgian returning from a trip to Edinburgh, said: "We were sitting in the club car when we heard two loud bangs, like explosions, and thick smoke swept through the carriage. The train came to a grinding halt – we were all thrown forwards, the lights went out. There was total mayhem – people just started to panic.

"People flocked to the emergency exit, but it was either locked or jammed, because it was impossible to open it. The guard in charge of the train was completely hopeless – he didn't seem to know what to do, or how to do it.

"In the end, one of the men on board found a hammer and we were able to smash one of the windows and climb out. We were then left to grope around in the pitch dark, looking for the emergency exit. It was like a bad dream. I thought I was going to die."

Out of the 14 people who were reported hurt in the incident, six were treated for smoke and fumes inhalation, and eight for minor injuries.

Seven Britons were said to be among those evacuated. Some of the passengers reportedly injured their hands trying to break the train's windows to get out. Late last night, 100 firefighters and 20 fire engines from Kent were still working to put out the blaze, but the situation was said to be under control. However, a spokeswoman for Kent Fire and Rescue said that efforts were expected to go on into the night and it was a "long job".

Meanwhile, concerns were raised over the proximity of flames to a lorry transporting the flammable and toxic chemical phenol. French authorities confirmed that there was a vehicle containing around 100kg of phenol – also known as carbolic acid – close to the site of the fire.

However, a spokesman for police in the French city of Arras claimed that it did not make the situation any more dangerous. The spokesman said: "Some 75 (French] firefighters are continuing to tackle the blaze."

The fire, the second in the tunnel in 12 years, caused widespread chaos for travellers and hauliers.

All tunnel traffic, including the 50 daily Eurostar passenger trains, and car-carrying shuttle services, were suspended until at least today.

No Eurostar trains were in the tunnel – which sits about 150ft beneath the seabed – when the fire broke out. However, 2,000 passengers were on five Eurostar trains en route to the tunnel at the time. Thousands more passengers were at stations along routes served by tunnel trains. The blaze caused major disruption for rail passengers travelling between London, Paris and Brussels.

There were long queues around St Pancras International Station in London, Eurostar's British terminus, as confused travellers tried to find out what was happening.

Camille Lamalle, a Frenchwoman living in Surrey, said that some passengers feared the worst because yesterday was the seventh anniversary of the 11 September terrorist attacks on the United States.

She said: "People are starting to freak out because it's the 9/11 anniversary."

Meanwhile, queues of traffic built up on the M20 as Kent Police implemented "Operation Stack" to deal with freight vehicles making their way towards the tunnel. As part of the operation, a section of the motorway was turned into a lorry park.

Dr Sally Lievesley, a risk consultant and fire expert, called for smoke hoods to be installed in Channel Tunnel trains to give passengers added protection. She said: "It would give a decided advantage to anyone travelling through the tunnel, providing them with more time to get out of the train."

But Dr Lievesley praised what she said appeared to have been a "very efficient and effective" rescue operation. She added the French fire service had an excellent reputation for paramedic training.

Some passengers said Eurostar had agreed to reimburse them for the cost of staying overnight in London. Douglas Mair, 69, a retired academic from Edinburgh, said last night: "I know it is not their fault, but if they just said they can guarantee that we can go tomorrow I would be feeling a bit better."

He added he had spent 2,000 on a trip to France with his wife and was worried that he would not receive a refund if he was unable to continue with his visit.

"We have already travelled from Edinburgh to London and we have another train booked from Lille to Avignon, as well as the hotels once we get to France. I don't know how much it would cost me if I were to go back to Edinburgh tonight."

Eurostar said it did not expect any services between the UK and continent to be running today.

Simon Montague, a spokesman, said "several thousand" people had been affected by the fire.

He said: "We have four or five trains in transit between London, Paris and Brussels and our highest priority is to help those passengers who are on those trains. Passengers can exchange their tickets or get a refund. We are extremely sorry that we are unable to carry people but this is an incident out of our control."

The tunnel was closed to passenger trains for more than two weeks after the previous major fire, two years after it opened in 1994.

Several people suffered smoke inhalation in that blaze, which also broke out on a lorry on a freight train.

The incident caused 200 million of damage to the tunnel, and prompted a tightening of safety procedures.

Subsea construction where safety first takes highest priority

ON ITS website, Eurotunnel boasts of the "highest level of safety" for customers and staff, with its history being among "the best on record".

Evacuation plans have been in place since the submerged crossing was opened in 1994. The previous major fire happened two years later.

A service tunnel between the two main train tunnels doubles up as a safety escape passage. There are entry points every 375 metres

and it is ventilated to a higher pressure than the other tunnels to ensure air flows away in an emergency, keeping it smoke-free.

Fire detectors are placed along the track and inside the trains, while all rolling stock is fitted with extinguishers. Regular emergency simulations are undertaken to test the system, the last one in January.

The Anglo/French exercise is described by the tunnel operator Eurotunnel as "the largest of its kind in Europe". Its aim is to test the response and co-ordination of the emergency services of both France and England. The latest such exercise, the 12th carried out since 1994, involved 300 Red Cross workers, dozens of referees and observers, firefighters, ambulance medics, police and government representatives.

The exercise involved four Eurotunnel shuttles and meant closing the tunnel for several hours, costing 120,000 euros (95,000) in lost revenue. Rail safety expert Peter Rayner said: "If you are going to have an incident like today's, the best tunnel to have it in is the Channel Tunnel. It is set out to deal with it. If an incident happened in a normal railway tunnel, it would be a much worse situation."

FACT BOX

A SERVICE tunnel between the two main train tunnels doubles up as a safety escape passage, which has entry points every 375 metres.

It is ventilated to a higher pressure than the other tunnels to ensure air flows away in an emergency, keeping it smoke-free.

Fire detectors are placed along the track and inside the trains, while all rolling stock is fitted with extinguishers.

Annual emergency simulations are undertaken to test the system, the last one taking place in January.

The bi-national exercise is described by tunnel operators Eurotunnel as "the largest of its kind in Europe".