A traffic incident near the Channel Tunnel’s French entrance in Coquelles, close to Calais, has left 19 people injured after a bus collided with a parked freight train on Saturday evening, according to local French authorities.
The vehicle involved in the crash was transporting lorry drivers who were scheduled to board a shuttle rail service through the tunnel when the collision occurred at approximately 19:27 local time (17:27 GMT) on the tunnel’s loading platform.
Agathe Cury, the local sub-prefect, confirmed to reporters that two of the 19 injured people, which include the bus driver and 18 passengers, have sustained severe injuries and were airlifted to nearby medical facilities via helicopter. As of the latest update, none of the injured are reported to be in life-threatening condition.
Cury also noted that all people affected in the crash are men from multiple different nationalities. Images released by local French newspaper La Voix du Nord show emergency response personnel crowded around the scene, where the damaged bus with visible dents and breaks to its front and side panels is parked alongside the stationary freight train.
In terms of traffic impact, Cury stated that only a brief pause in both freight and Eurostar passenger transit through the tunnel was ordered, to allow emergency teams to evacuate injured people. Beyond this short suspension, regular traffic flow through the Channel Tunnel was not disrupted in the longer term.
Eurostar, the high-speed rail service that operates passenger routes through the tunnel between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, later released an official statement confirming that the crash took place several kilometers from the tunnel proper. The company clarified that the incident does not involve any Eurostar trains traveling to or from London, and all services have continued to operate on schedule as planned.