Stalled Train Strands Hundreds in Chunnel

 

The interior of a Eurotunnel train

Around 500 passengers were stranded in the Channel Tunnel in the dark with no air-conditioning and temperatures of 86 degrees Farenheit when a Eurotunnel train ground to a halt midway through the passage.

Paramedics were shipped down the service tunnel to check on the passengers and trains were stopped in both directions. Several passengers, including children, passed out, and a sealed metal carriage door had to be forced open to allow cool air in. Bottled water ran out and the toilets stopped working.

Services in both directions were stopped while a rescue train arrived to pull out the broken-down one out.

Passengers, who had boarded with their cars at 7:50 p.m. on Tuesday, got to Britain at 2:30 a.m. on  Wednesday.

Eurotunnel has offered refunds to all passengers and free travel vouchers. The incident also affected Eurostar services (pictured). Around 3,000 passengers in both directions were delayed by up to five hours.