Eurotunnel Bus Crash: Nineteen Injured After Minibus Hits Freight Train at French Terminal

Nineteen people were injured when a minibus carrying lorry drivers struck a Le Shuttle freight train at the in Coquelles, northern France, on Thursday 15 October, French officials said.

Two people suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries and were airlifted to hospital. The minibus driver was among the injured and the others received medical attention at the terminal. French authorities said none of the injuries was believed to be life-threatening.

Le Shuttle passenger services were suspended for about 90 minutes while emergency teams worked at the terminal, but officials said freight traffic and Eurostar services were not interrupted. Trains later resumed running after checks on the infrastructure.

Authorities said an alert was raised at 7.27pm local time (6.27pm BST) as vehicles were being loaded for a Channel crossing. It was not immediately clear whether that was the exact time of the collision. Reuters reported that emergency services were called at 7.36pm, suggesting the impact and first response happened within a short period.

How the Crash Unfolded

Agathe Cury, the local sub-prefect, said two trains were positioned on either side of a loading platform. One was being loaded with heavy goods vehicles, while the other had already been loaded with traffic for a separate crossing. At the terminal, staff guide vehicles on to the shuttle wagons from such platforms.

Early reports differed on whether the loaded train was stationary or preparing to depart when the minibus collided with it. Officials have not given a detailed public description of the vehicle's movements in the moments before impact.

Cury said the minibus did not overturn and remained upright at the scene, and that the impact had injured those on board. She added that it was the first time an accident of this type had happened on a Eurotunnel loading platform, describing it as an unusual incident for the site.

A local official said none of the injuries was considered life-threatening. Early coverage gave differing accounts of how many people were seriously hurt, but the figure of 19 injured has been consistent across reports. It has not been confirmed whether all those hurt were on the minibus or whether anyone on the platform was injured.

Travel Disruption at the Tunnel

Le Shuttle carries cars, coaches and lorries beneath the Channel between Coquelles, near Calais, and Folkestone in Kent. The crossing takes about 35 minutes and the service is widely used by travellers and hauliers as an alternative to ferries.

It is run by Getlink, which also operates the 31-mile Channel Tunnel, and had carried more than 80 million vehicles by 2022, according to reports at the time. Services normally run around the clock, with frequent departures in both directions.

Eurostar trains use the same tunnel but carry foot passengers rather than vehicles. The company said the incident would not affect its services between London and continental Europe, and journeys on those trains continued as scheduled.

Eurotunnel did not immediately publish detailed information about the number of delayed departures or any advice to passengers already booked to travel on Thursday evening. The extent of knock-on disruption after the initial 90-minute suspension was not set out in early official statements.

Inquiry Into Cause of Collision

French authorities have opened a judicial investigation into the circumstances of the collision. The cause has not been established publicly and no preliminary findings have been released.

The opening of an investigation does not in itself mean any individual is suspected of an offence. Officials have not yet published a full account of how the minibus came to hit the train or whether any technical issues, human error or communication problems are being examined.

Investigators are expected to look at loading procedures on the platform, the positioning of vehicles and trains, and any available CCTV or data recordings from the site. Further details are expected as the inquiry progresses.

Previous Incidents in the Channel Tunnel

The tunnel has seen other, unrelated incidents. A fire on a lorry shuttle inside the tunnel in September 2008 injured 14 people and disrupted services for days. In August 2022, about 400 people were evacuated from a Le Shuttle train after a technical fault led to a stoppage and checks on the line.

Neither of those incidents has been linked to Thursday's collision. Officials have not suggested any wider safety concerns about the tunnel itself as a result of the minibus crash, and routine services through the link have continued.