News

A fire in a lavatory on a train passing through the Channel Tunnel  delayed a Eurostar service for more than four hours after emergency procedures were put into action.

The incident, caused by a discarded cigarette butt, occurred on  Friday night as the train, carrying almost 700 passengers from London to Paris, was approaching the French side of the tunnel.

A spokeswoman said: "Unfortunately, an irresponsible passenger decided to have a cigarette in one of the toilets in first class and throw away his or her cigarette butt and created a small fire in one of the bins in the toilet. That created some smoke while the train was going through the Channel."

"The crew put out the fire. But as we follow Eurotunnel's regulations, the train was put on emergency sidings outside the tunnel where the French side made sure that the train was safe and the fire was completely out," the spokeswoman added.

The smoker has not yet been identified, but Eurostar is soliciting passengers who might know the individual to contact the group as "we would certainly very much like to take legal action" against him or her, she said.

Smoking is banned on Eurostar trains.