Fire-damaged Channel train moved

Eurotunnel services will take some time yet to return to normal

A fire-damaged freight train has been driven out of the French end of the Channel Tunnel at a walking pace.

Several destroyed lorries and vans were on board, but the second half of the train with more trucks on board is still to be removed by Eurotunnel.

In all, 27 vehicles were destroyed and several drivers needed treatment for smoke inhalation following the blaze on 11 September.

Eurotunnel says it will be some months before services return to normal.

A spokesman for the operator of the Channel Tunnel said it would not take as long to repair and fully reopen the tunnel as it did after a fire in 1996.

Five of the six sections of the tunnel damaged by the fire in the north tunnel have now reopened and rail traffic is increasing.

It is not yet known what caused the fire, but French officials say the blaze was near a lorry carrying chemicals.

Thirty-two people on a lorry shuttle service were led to safety after the fire. Fourteen were treated for minor injuries, including smoke inhalation.