Fire on CTRL Section 2

[Mojo]

BBC news has the following story

Twenty fire engines have been called to a blaze involving two trains on a section of the high speed cross-Channel rail link which is under construction.

Eurostar said the fire, in the Thames tunnels area, is on a stretch of line being built between Gravesend and St Pancras, London.

One train was pushed from where the fire started in Swanscombe, Kent, along the track to West Thurrock, Essex.

The fire is thought to involve two construction trains.

Police and ambulance crews are at the scene but emergency teams were unable to say whether there were any people on board the train.

A spokesman for Eurostar said the company was not due to use the line until 2007 and that Eurostar services would not be disrupted.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service sent 10 pumps to the fire scene and 10 from Essex attended at about 1920 BST.

 

[TheSlash]

Just about to post that lol, my sources can't agree if its likely to be 66's or industrial locos

 

[Mojo]

Seems like one person has died as well
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4157924.stm

 

[TheSlash]

Nothing at all about the incident in the Mirror or the Sun today, in fact i think they were so over run with interesting news articles, they both made the hard decision to give the front page to Madonna falling off her horse

 

[Mojo]

I was surprised on BBC News 24 last night, they didn't even give it it's own piece, just a few sentences on the ticker, which was surprising, because considering the scale of the incident.

 

[tramboy]

Its being rumoured that the fire was started on Carillion Rail's french overhead wire construction vehicle, which is renowned for its un-safeness, and has had many problems in that past.

That begs the question what it was doing in that tunnel anyway (apart from wiring) if faults have been found with it.

Dave

 

[Harold]

BBC National News had a report on this and also said that the main Chunnel Tunnel route was un-effected


HBA135

 

[Coxster]

ONE DEAD IN RAIL TUNNEL BLAZE

A man died last night when a fire broke out on a stretch of the new high-speed cross-channel rail link. Twenty Fire engines and more the 50 firemen fought the blaze on a maintenance locomotive some 1300yds into the tunnel. Firemen used thermal imaging equipment to find the body of a construction worker who was killed in the blaze. Another maintenance worker received serious burns. He was rescued by emergency services and taken to hospital . the fire broke out just after 7pm in Swanscombe, Kent, on a stretch of line being built from Gravesend to St Pancras station in Central London, which Eurostar is due to start using from 2007. The cause of the blaze was unknown.