A bus carrying workers hit a freight train stopped at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel. At least 19 people were injured

A bus carrying truck drivers hit a freight train on Thursday in the loading platform area of the Eurotunnel in Coquelles, near Calais, at the French entrance to the Channel Tunnel. The driver and 18 passengers were injured in the collision.

The accident occurred at 7:27 p.m. local time, while the minibus was carrying workers who were due to board the Le Shuttle service. The driver and one of the passengers sustained serious injuries and were evacuated by helicopter, but authorities said their lives were not in danger.

According to deputy prefect Agathe Cury, the bus entered, for reasons still unknown, the train that was about to leave the platform. The vehicle did not overturn, but the impact injured the passengers. An investigation has been opened to determine the causes of the accident.

Freight and Eurostar train traffic was not affected, following a brief halt to evacuate the injured. Eurostar announced that all services to and from London are running according to schedule. It is the first incident of this kind reported on a Eurotunnel loading platform.