On 11 September 2008, a France-bound Eurotunnel Shuttle train carrying heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and their drivers caught fire while travelling through the Channel Tunnel.

[6] More than 300 firefighters from both sides of the English Channel helped tackle the blaze,[7] supported by emergency services from East and West Sussex, London and Essex.

The 32 people on board the train were led to safety down a separate service tunnel; fourteen suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation, and were taken to the hospital.

[8] Eyewitness accounts state that two loud bangs, described as explosions, were heard before thick smoke swept through the carriage.

Further eyewitness accounts suggest that the emergency exit was jammed, and that one passenger smashed a window with a hammer to climb out.

[12] Some passengers arriving at St Pancras Station reported smelling smoke whilst travelling through the tunnel.

[16] While the final sixth of the tunnel was being repaired, trains were limited to 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) by the Intergovernmental Commission.

[19] When the train stopped in the tunnel due to a fire, the procedure was that the smoke had to be removed by the high powered ventilation before an evacuation could be allowed.