London: A major fire on a freight train shut down all travel on the Channel Tunnel link between Britain and France, leaving thousands of train passengers stranded but causing only minor injuries.

Eurotunnel officials said 32 lorry drivers were evacuated from the freight shuttle link after a fire on a lorry some 10 km from the French entrance to the tunnel at Calais Thursday.

The fire was believed to have started on a lorry that overturned on the freight shuttle, initial reports said.

Reports in the French media said the truck involved was carrying the chemical phenol.

According to French radio, 14 people were slightly injured in the incident, either from smoke inhalation or broken glass as firefighters continued attempts to get the blaze under control as of early evening.

"All the train drivers are safe. No-one is at risk, no customers are at risk," a spokeswoman for operators Eurotunnel said.

Traffic in the tunnel was expected to be halted in both directions at least until Friday morning.

The tracks on which the cargo trucks are transported through the 50-km-long tunnel between Folkestone in Britain and Calais in northern France are also used by Eurostar, the passenger rail link between London, Paris and Brussels.

A Eurostar spokesman said there were no passengers trains in the tunnel at the time of the incident, and the trains were returning to their nearest station.

Each Eurostar train carries more than 700 passengers. More than two million people travelled on Eurostar trains in the first three months of this year.

Travelling time to Paris was cut to two hours and 20 minutes when a new high-speed track came into operation on the British side of the line last year, hailing the train link as an alternative to flying.

The fire broke out on a freight lorry travelling from Folkestone to Calais at around 14.00 GMT Thursday.

Both French and British fire crews were dispatched to the incident.

Reports from Paris said French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie had travelled to the scene.

Safety procedures in the tunnel were reviewed after a major fire on a shuttle train carrying trucks in November 1996.

The Channel Tunnel was opened by Queen Elizabeth II and France's late president Francois Mitterand on May 6, 1994.

It lies 40 metres below the seabed of the English Channel and consists of two single track railway tunnels linked by cross passages to a service tunnel for evacuations and rescue operations.
Source : IANS