Nineteen injured in minibus accident on Eurotunnel loading platform

Five people seriously hurt after incident involving vehicle carrying HGV drivers in Calais, say French authorities

Nineteen people have been injured after a minibus was involved in an accident at the loading platform of the Eurotunnel near Calais, French authorities have said.

Five people were severely injured though no one’s life appeared to be in danger, the local prefect said in a statement.

The minibus was carrying lorry drivers who were heading to travel on a shuttle train service through the tunnel on Thursday evening.

Emergency services were working at the scene, it added.

Eurostar said the incident is not expected to affect its service. It said in a status update: “An incident occurred several kilometres away from the Channel Tunnel. This incident does not involve or impact Eurostar trains running from and to London. All of Eurostar trains will run as expected.”

The Pas-de-Calais prefecture said in a statement: “An accident involving a minibus carrying Heavy Goods Vehicle drivers, headed to board a LeShuttle train, occurred this evening at the loading platform of the Eurotunnel site.

“Significant resources were immediately deployed by Eurotunnel, and subsequently placed under the authority of the Prefect of the Pas-de-Calais department.

“Early reports suggest that 19 people were involved, including the driver. At this stage, there are no fatalities, and no one’s life is considered to be in danger.”

A photograph published by local news outlet La Voix du Nord showed a badly damaged minibus on the platform, with police officers and staff in high-visibility jackets present at the scene.

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