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Severe traffic disruption after fire closes Channel Tunnel

17 January 2015 19:58 (UTC +04:00)

The main operator of the tunnel, Eurotunnel, announced Saturday that it has halted traffic after it saw smoke at the end of the subsea crossing.

The incident raised suspicions about another terrorist attack near France which has been grappling with growing insecurity over the past days.

Eurotunnel, which offers vehicle and freight services through the tunnel, evacuated the crossing after it received information of a truck fire in the northern end. It announced that all services are suspended until further notice.

Eurostar, the main transportation company carrying passengers through the crossing, advised passengers to postpone their trips. It also forced trains en route to return to their original stations.

The state of high alert still persists in France following an attack on the office of the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, in Paris on January 7, which left 12 people dead. The incident was followed by a series of other attacks and sieges across the country, causing five more deaths in addition to three terrorists.