SIX people have suffered from smoke inhalation and eight were injured in a fire that broke out on a freight train in the Channel Tunnel linking England and France.
"The 14 injured have been taken to a service tunnel and are being evacuated to hospitals,`` said Francois Malhance, the director of the local prefect`s office.
A spokesman for Eurotunnel safety services had earlier said no one was hurt, but about 30 people on the freight train, mostly truck drivers, were evacuated from the undersea tunnel.
All train traffic had been halted through the 50km tunnel.
The fire broke out on the French side of the tunnel about 3pm local time (11pm AEST Thursday) and was thought to have started on a truck being carried on a freight shuttle which was going from the British side to France, a Eurotunnel spokesman said.
The French government said the blaze started when a truck carrying chemicals caught fire on the train bound from Folkestone, Kent, to Calais, Britain`s Sky News reported.
The train was about 11km from Calais, two thirds through the tunnel, when the alert was sounded, a British police spokeswoman said.
Kent Fire and Rescue service, on the British side of the tunnel, said it sent seven fire engines to help French counterparts at the scene.
"We have a number of appliances there. It is a serious incident,`` a spokeswoman said.
Kent Police said those caught inside the tunnel were being evacuated via a service tunnel running parallel to the main train tunnel.
"A train is now on its way from France to pick up the people from the service tunnel and take them back to France.``
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