LILLE, France (AFP) — A fire on a freight shuttle in the Channel Tunnel on Thursday forced an emergency rescue operation and the closure of the tunnel, officials said.
About 30 people on the freight train, mostly truck drivers, were evacuated from the tunnel, but no one was hurt, said a spokesman for Eurotunnel safety services.
The fire was thought to have started on a truck being carried on the shuttle at about 3:00 pm (1355 GMT), which was going from the British side to France, Eurotunnel spokesmen said.
The train was about seven miles (11 kilometers) from Calais, two thirds through the tunnel, when the alert was sounded, a British police spokeswoman said.
All train services through the tunnel were cancelled until at least Friday morning, the French state rail company, SNCF, announced.
The tunnel carries Eurostar expresses between London, Paris and Brussels, as well as freight and passenger shuttles between Folkestone and Calais.
A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service, on the British side of the tunnel, said it had sent appliances to a "serious incident."
"We have a number of appliances there. It is a serious incident," a spokeswoman said.
A Eurotunnel spokesman in Britain said: "The French fire brigade were on site to deal with a fire on a freight shuttle travelling from Folkestone to Calais.
"The shuttle was evacuated and 32 people taken into the service tunnel. A train is now on its way from France to pick up the people from the service tunnel and take them back to France.
"Eurotunnel has suspended services in both directions while emergency services deal with the incident," said the British spokesman.
The tunnel was closed for several hours on August 21, 2006 after a truck engine caught fire.
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