Minibus Hits Freight Train at Channel Tunnel; 19 Injured
A minibus carrying truck drivers collided with a departing freight shuttle at the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles, France, injuring 19 people, two critically.
KEY POINTS
- Minibus carrying truck drivers hit a departing freight shuttle at Eurotunnel's Coquelles terminal.
- 19 injured: the driver and 18 passengers; two flown to Lille in critical but stable condition.
- Judicial investigation opened; first such accident at the site, cause unknown.
- Passenger services briefly suspended; Eurostar cancellations unrelated to crash.
- Minibus driver is a Eurotunnel employee; injured drivers are of multiple nationalities.
A minibus transporting truck drivers struck a freight shuttle as it was departing the Eurotunnel loading platform at Coquelles near Calais at 7:27 p.m. local time on Thursday. The crash injured 19 people, including the minibus driver and 18 passengers, all men of various nationalities.
Calais Sub-Prefect Agathe Cury said two victims were airlifted to a hospital in Lille in critical condition, though their lives are not in danger. The remaining 17 were taken to local hospitals. The 18 people aboard the freight shuttle were evacuated and offered psychological support.
“For reasons that remain unknown, the minibus struck the shuttle as it was setting off. This is the first time an accident of this kind has occurred.”
Emergency services deployed 55 firefighters, 25 medical teams, and about 20 border police officers. A judicial investigation has been opened to determine why the minibus hit the shuttle, which Cury described as the first accident of its kind at the site.
Passenger services were temporarily suspended while emergency crews worked, but Cury confirmed operations had returned to normal. Eurostar said its last two Paris-London trains were cancelled due to planned engineering works, not the crash, and normal service is expected Friday.
The minibus driver is a Eurotunnel employee. Consulates have been notified regarding the injured drivers' nationalities.
2 more sources below
COMMENTS (0)
No comments yet. Be the first.
RELATED STORIES
Peshawar School Roof Collapse Kills Dozens of Children
Conflicting tolls report 28 to 33 dead, mostly students aged 7 to 14, after the roof of Al-Khair School caved in on Thursday.
Tesla Unveils SpaceX-Thruster Roadster, Delays Production to 2028
Six years after its original target, the electric sports car demonstrated hovering maneuvers but offered no price or firm delivery timeline.
Heavy Rain Floods Streets and Homes in Kocaeli
Orange-coded downpour turns roads into rivers, inundates buildings in Başiskele district.
This page was compiled with AI assistance from the outlets named above and passed an automated language check before publication. Montegre has no reporters of its own; the byline names the outlets the story was compiled from. Method and editorial standards