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The 2008 Channel Tunnel fire occurred on 11 September 2008 in the Channel Tunnel. The incident involved a France-bound Eurotunnel Shuttle train carrying heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and their drivers. The fire lasted for sixteen hours and reached temperatures of up to 1000 °C. Of the thirty-two people on board the train, fourteen people suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation and were taken to hospital. When the fire was reported, the tunnel was immediately shut to all services except emergency traffic. The undamaged south tunnel was reopened 13 September with a freight train entering the tunnel at Folkestone at 00:08 BST and a limited service provided with trains travelling in turn in alternating directions in the one tunnel. By the end of September, two thirds of the north tunnel had reopened. Full service resumed in February 2009 after repairs costing €60 million. This fire was the third to close the tunnel since it opened in 1994, the first being the 1996 Channel Tunnel fire and, in August 2006, the tunnel was closed for several hours after fire broke out on a truck loaded onto a HGV Shuttle. == The fire == The fire was reported on 11 September 2008, at approximately 13:57 UTC (14:57 BST / 15:57 CEST) from the French entrance to the tunnel in the North Tunnel. The blaze spread to other trucks on the train during the evening, destroying six carriages and one locomotive. The fire continued to burn overnight and was reported to have been put out by 06:00 UTC the following day, although fire crews continued to smother minor fires nearby for a further two hours. More than 300 firefighters from both sides of the English Channel helped tackle the blaze, with emergency services from East and West Sussex, London and Essex providing support. Thirty-two people on board the train were led to safety down a separate service tunnel; fourteen people suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation, and were taken to hospital. The shuttle was carrying 27 vehicles. A lorry carrying 100 kg of phenol (carbolic acid), a toxic product used in the pharmaceutical industry, was initially thought to be close to the seat of the fire; however this is discovered to be an error and only 100g was carried.〔Technical Investigation Report p85〕 Eyewitness accounts state that two loud bangs, described as explosions, were heard and then thick smoke swept through the carriage. The train came to a grinding halt, and the lights went out. Further eyewitness accounts suggest that the emergency exit was jammed, and one passenger smashed a window with a hammer in order to climb out. The temperature in the tunnel was described as "very hot".〔 About 650 m (''ca.'' 2130 ft) of tunnel was damaged by the fire, 50% more than during the fire of November 1996. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2008 Channel Tunnel fire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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