At least 19 people have been hurt after a minibus carrying heavy goods vehicle drivers collided with a freight train near the French entrance to the Channel Tunnel.
The crash happened at about 8pm on Thursday in Pas-de-Calais, prompting a large-scale emergency operation. Two of the injured were taken to hospital by air ambulance.
Officials have opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, describing it as the first of its kind to take place on a Eurotunnel loading platform.
The response involved 55 firefighters, 25 mobile emergency and intensive care teams and around 20 border police officers, supported by ambulances and a helicopter.
Everyone injured was travelling on the minibus, which was taking HGV drivers to a Eurotunnel loading platform.
French authorities said 19 people, including the minibus driver, suffered injuries. Five were described as seriously hurt, although none of their injuries was considered life-threatening.
Two patients were flown to University Hospital in Lille. The remaining 17 were transported to hospitals in Helfaut, Calais, Boulogne, Montreuil-sur-Mer and Dunkirk.
Sources later said the train was stationary when the collision occurred and that the minibus struck it.
A spokesman for the Pas-de-Calais prefecture said: ‘An initial report indicates 19 people involved, including the driver. No deaths are to be reported at this stage and no lives are in danger.’
The sub-prefect of Calais said the drivers involved were all men and came from different nationalities.
The crash took place on Thursday evening close to the Channel Tunnel entrance in Pas-de-Calais
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The collision occurred on the French side of the Channel Tunnel, the 31-mile link connecting Folkestone in Kent with Coquelles, near Calais, in northern France.
Agathe Cury, the under-prefect of Pas-de-Calais, confirmed that an inquiry into the crash had been launched.
She said the incident was unprecedented on a Eurotunnel loading platform, but confirmed that both freight services and Eurostar operations continued without disruption.
Ms Cury added that, ‘for reasons currently unknown’, the minibus hit the shuttle ‘as it was departing’, the BBC reported.
Opened in 1994, the 31-mile Channel Tunnel remains one of the United Kingdom’s key transport connections with mainland Europe.
The cross-Channel route is used by high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, freight services and LeShuttle, which carries vehicles between Britain and France.
It is made up of two rail tunnels, along with a separate service tunnel beneath the English Channel.
Eurostar said its services would operate normally.
‘An incident occurred several kilometres away from the Channel Tunnel tonight, not involving Eurostar. This incident does not impact Eurostar trains running from and to London. All of Eurostar trains will run as expected,’ the statement read.
Before adding that although the last two trains running between Paris and London today were cancelled, this was due to engineering works, and not the collision.
An FCDO spokesperson said: ‘We are following reports of a collision on the French side of the Eurotunnel. Our thoughts are with all those impacted. We stand ready to provide consular assistance to any British Nationals involved.’