Minibus hits a stationary freight train at the Channel Tunnel loading platform, injuring 19

16 October 2026

A minibus hit a stationary freight train near the French entrance to the Channel Tunnel, injuring the driver and 18 passengers, French authorities said.
The collision happened at the loading platform at Coquelles, near Calais, at 19:27 local time.
The bus driver and one passenger were severely injured and evacuated by helicopter, but none of the injuries were life threatening, a local official said.
The minibus was carrying lorry drivers who were about to board the shuttle rail service; all were men of different nationalities.
Local sub-prefect Agathe Cury said two trains were on either side of the platform, one being loaded with heavy goods vehicles and another departing, and that the minibus collided with the departing train.
Cury said freight and Eurostar passenger traffic were not disrupted after a brief stoppage to evacuate the injured, that an investigation had begun, and that it was the first time an incident of this type had occurred on a Eurotunnel loading platform.