Nineteen people were injured in a collision between a van and a freight shuttle at the French Eurotunnel terminal near Coquelles. The incident occurred on Thursday evening while the van was carrying heavy truck drivers preparing to board the Le Shuttle shuttle.
The final balance of the later prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department said two of the injured were hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The remaining 17 people suffered minor injuries. The driver of the minibus was among the injured.
„The minibus left its lane for unknown reasons and ended its journey by hitting the side of a Le Shuttle shuttle that was leaving,“ the prefecture said.Around 200 rescuers sent to the scene
The crash was reported at 7:27 p.m. local time and rescue teams were activated nine minutes later. Around 200 rescuers and other personnel, including medical teams, firefighters, police and a helicopter, were sent to the scene.
Initially, the movement of Le Shuttle passenger shuttles was suspended. According to French authorities, the disruption lasted about an hour and a half while rescue services worked at the terminal. Eurostar trains and freight trains were not affected.
The cause of the collision is under investigation
French authorities have not said what caused the van to veer off course. The nationalities of the victims have not been released, and the consulates of the countries concerned have been notified.
The incident occurred at the loading dock of the terminal in France, near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel. According to Sky News, this is the first incident of its kind at a loading dock at the “Eurotunnel“.
Sources: news.sky.com, apnews.com, boursorama.com