Passengers on the Eurotunnel between France and England had to evacuate through a service tunnel on Tuesday evening due to an alarm on board a shuttle that caused hours of disruption, the link operator said. . “The shuttle was brought to a controlled stop and inspected. As a precautionary measure, for their safety and comfort, we have transferred the passengers on board to another shuttle, via the service tunnel”, specifies John Keefe, director of Public Affairs for the Getlink group, which operates the Channel Tunnel. .
Photos and videos shared on social networks show passengers walking through a tunnel, some with their belongings or their dog. Sarah Fellows, 37, from Birmingham, told the PA News Agency that “The service tunnel was terrifying”. “It was like a disaster movie,” she described, “There was a woman crying in the tunnel, another woman having a panic attack.” Michael Harrison, from Cranbrook, one of the passengers on the evacuated train, said he “finally arrived in Folkestone six hours after boarding. »
“Operations like this take time, but they are for everyone’s safety and must be carried out with care,” said John Keefe, adding that this had resulted in longer crossing times. “Even though some passengers experienced a longer journey than expected, everyone was safe at all times,” he said. Service was back to normal Wednesday morning.