Nineteen injured in minibus collision with Eurotunnel freight shuttle near Calais
A minibus carrying lorry drivers struck a departing shuttle at the Coquelles loading site. A later briefing revised the number described as critically injured to two.
Nineteen people were injured on 15 October when a minibus carrying lorry drivers collided with a Eurotunnel freight shuttle at the Coquelles loading site near Calais, according to French authorities. The Guardian reported that five were severely injured; the Mirror later reported a revised figure of two critically injured. Authorities said no lives appeared to be in danger.
The minibus was taking heavy-goods-vehicle drivers to board a LeShuttle service. The 19 people involved included its driver, the Guardian reported. The collision happened on the loading platform, where vehicles board shuttles to travel through the Channel Tunnel.
What happened at the Coquelles loading site
The Mirror attributed to Calais sub-prefect Agathe Cury an account that the minibus struck a freight shuttle as it was setting off at 19:27 local time. The alarm was raised nine minutes later, at 19:36, according to the Mirror’s live updates. The cause of the collision remained unknown, and the Mirror reported that a judicial investigation had opened.
The Guardian said emergency services were working at the scene and quoted the Pas-de-Calais prefecture as saying significant resources had been deployed. In the account attributed to Cury by the Mirror, the response involved 55 firefighters, 25 emergency medical teams, about 20 border police officers and about 100 Eurotunnel staff.
Cury said two people were airlifted to Lille University Hospital and 17 others were taken to nearby hospitals, according to the Mirror. The outlet reported that she revised the number described as critically injured from five to two. The Guardian’s earlier description was five severely injured; the two reports used different terms for injury severity.
Effect on Channel Tunnel services
Passenger services at the site were temporarily suspended during the emergency response and then returned to normal, the Mirror reported. It said freight and Eurostar services continued to operate normally. Eurostar expected its trains to and from London to run as scheduled, according to both the Guardian and the Mirror.
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Sources and context
- Nineteen injured in minibus accident on Eurotunnel loading platformThe Guardian (article labelled “Agencies”; agency unidentified in retrieved text)
- Channel Tunnel train crash live: 19 casualties as bus collides with trainThe Mirror (reporting by Eliana Nunes and Ethan Blackshaw; later briefing attributed to Calais sub-prefect Agathe Cury)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.