On the Eurochannel Shuttle in 1996, at the French-end of the Channel Tunnel, for an as-yet-unexplained reason, a fire broke-out beneath a lorry onboard one of the open-sided shuttle rigs, but it remained unnoticed until much later.

34 people were trapped as fire spread throughout the carriages. Fire officers had maintained that the open-sided design of the carriages would prove dangerous.

The Channel Authority pinpointed failure of management. Other failures were found in the emergency systems. Staff in the Rail Control Centre (RCC) became overloaded with the demands of existing emergency communication and control systems, and covered some, but not all, of the demands. Delays in the availability of otherwise very responsive emergency crews from both France and the UK occurred.

450 fire fighters worked for six hours to get the blaze under control. The overall cost – apart from the community losses – was estimated at US$313 million.

Location: France.

Training Applications:

• Safety design issues related to underground railways
• Handling and transport of dangerous goods
• Emergency procedures
• Safety and rescue systems
• Crew resourcing
• Contractor and subcontractor issues
• Transport controls
• Management decision making – operational profit vs. safety considerations
• Training and accreditation issues

BBC Disaster Series:
The 12-part BBC Disaster Series examines case studies of major disasters from around the world from various industries, such as oil and gas, transport, aviation, aeronautics and space, chemical manufacturing and hospitality. Read more