Kent: Striking ferry workers have set fire to tracks inside the Channel tunnel, as the chaos prompted desperate migrants to try to break into stationary vehicles in a repeat of scenes that played out a week ago.
Eurostar and Eurotunnel services were suspended temporarily on Tuesday but resumed after 3.30pm, albeit with a reduced operation. Passengers were advised to check before travel.
With ferry services between Dover and Calais already suspended because of striking workers’ ongoing blockade of the northern French port, the suspension of trains through the tunnel caused further misery for people attempting to cross the Channel.
A Eurotunnel spokesman estimated that 30-50 protesters had caused damage, describing the union’s actions as “deplorable”. “They have been taken away by the police and we will be pressing charges against them for criminal and civil damage, and putting people’s live in danger from their actions,” he said.
In Calais, a spokesman for the local council said: “We have registered break-in attempts by migrants this morning at the Eurotunnel site.”
Meanwhile, on the hottest day of the year, angry travellers were reduced to waiting in the sticky, crowded ticket hall at St Pancras in London for news.
Michael Jameson, a professional cellist, said he had an audition with the Lille orchestra scheduled for Wednesday morning and a session with a pianist on Tuesday, so the disruption could mean missing out on the chance of a lifetime.
“It is a total shambles,” he said, hauling his cello red-faced through the crowds. “It’s just ridiculous it’s happened again. The ticket cost a fortune, they made me pay extra for my cello. Now they are seriously understaffed – the complete absence of information is ridiculous.”
Jillian and James Masselos, on holiday from Australia, were keeping their two daughters, aged four and six, occupied with iPads. “It took us 35 hours to get to London because of delays, so I think we’re jinxed,” said Jillian Masselos, who is pregnant. “There should have been a plan in place for this that should have been put in place immediately. I asked a lady how long do these things usually take, and she just said: ‘Je ne sais pas.’”
Eurostar and Eurotunnel services were suspended temporarily on Tuesday but resumed after 3.30pm, albeit with a reduced operation. Passengers were advised to check before travel.
With ferry services between Dover and Calais already suspended because of striking workers’ ongoing blockade of the northern French port, the suspension of trains through the tunnel caused further misery for people attempting to cross the Channel.
A Eurotunnel spokesman estimated that 30-50 protesters had caused damage, describing the union’s actions as “deplorable”. “They have been taken away by the police and we will be pressing charges against them for criminal and civil damage, and putting people’s live in danger from their actions,” he said.
In Calais, a spokesman for the local council said: “We have registered break-in attempts by migrants this morning at the Eurotunnel site.”
Meanwhile, on the hottest day of the year, angry travellers were reduced to waiting in the sticky, crowded ticket hall at St Pancras in London for news.
Michael Jameson, a professional cellist, said he had an audition with the Lille orchestra scheduled for Wednesday morning and a session with a pianist on Tuesday, so the disruption could mean missing out on the chance of a lifetime.
“It is a total shambles,” he said, hauling his cello red-faced through the crowds. “It’s just ridiculous it’s happened again. The ticket cost a fortune, they made me pay extra for my cello. Now they are seriously understaffed – the complete absence of information is ridiculous.”
Jillian and James Masselos, on holiday from Australia, were keeping their two daughters, aged four and six, occupied with iPads. “It took us 35 hours to get to London because of delays, so I think we’re jinxed,” said Jillian Masselos, who is pregnant. “There should have been a plan in place for this that should have been put in place immediately. I asked a lady how long do these things usually take, and she just said: ‘Je ne sais pas.’”
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