Eurotunnel passengers stranded underground 'for five hours' after train breaks down
24 August 2022, 15:38
Eurotunnel passengers forced to evacuate after train breaks down
The Eurotunnel Le Shuttle passengers had to walk through a service tunnel to escape.
Passengers aboard a Eurotunnel Le Shuttle journey from Calais to Folkestone were left stranded underground 'for at least five hours' after a train broke down.
The incident happened on Tuesday evening when an alarm went off, triggering an investigation from staff into the issue.
After hours underground, the passengers had to abandon their vehicles and walk through a service tunnel to another train.
They were transferred to a replacement train and taken to their end destination of Folkestone in Kent.
Some people who were aboard the train at the time, and who had to walk with their fellow passengers through the service tunnel, described a panicked scene of confusion.
Sarah Fellows, 37, from Birmingham told PA that the incident was terrifying.
"It was like a disaster movie", she said: "You were just walking into the abyss not knowing what was happening. We all had to stay under the sea in this big queue."
Sarah added: "There was a woman crying in the tunnel, another woman having a panic attack who was travelling alone."
Attention customers travelling from Calais to Folkestone.
— Eurotunnel Le Shuttle (@LeShuttle) August 23, 2022
Due to the earlier train fault, we advise you not to travel to the terminal tonight.
Please arrive after 6am tomorrow.
Apologies for the delay. pic.twitter.com/SE13NDWmd3
Another passenger told the news agency: "Several people were freaking out about being down in the service tunnel, it's a bit of a weird place... we were stuck down there for at least five hours."
They said that the walk to the second train lasted about 10 to 15 minutes.
A spokesperson for Eurotunnel Le Shuttle said that services are now back to normal.
They said that these sorts of events are unusual but not exceptional.
"The Shuttle was brought to a controlled stop and inspected", the spokesperson said: "As a precautionary measure, for their safety and comfort, we transferred the passengers on-board to another shuttle, via the service tunnel [which is there for exactly that purpose]."
They went on: "We brought them to the passenger terminal building, where food and drinks were available, and then slowly brought out the original shuttle and reunited them with their vehicles."
