CALAIS, France — Freight trains began rolling late Friday through the undersea tunnel that revolutionized travel between France and England after firefighters extinguished an intense blaze that shut down service for more than a day.
Operator Eurotunnel said the traffic had resumed in one of two tunnels.
Sleek high-speed Eurostar passenger trains that also use the tunnel will resume a reduced service Saturday, said France’s rail operator.
Firefighters endured extreme temperatures and cramped quarters.
The fire deep under the English Channel left the British Isles cut off from continental Europe other than by sea or air — the only routes that existed before the undersea tunnel opened to passengers in 1994.
Laboring through the night Thursday, firefighters painstakingly worked toward each other from separate ends in France and Britain to combat the blaze, which broke out Thursday afternoon aboard one of the trains that whiz back and forth through the 30-mile tunnel, transporting trucks and vacationers’ cars.
Firefighters spent no more than 15 minutes at a time inside the tunnel, because of the intense temperatures of up to 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit. The blaze was declared extinguished about midday Friday.
Five of 14 people injured remained in hospitals Friday, said prosecutor Gerald Lesigne, who was investigating the blaze. Officials said some people had inhaled large quantities of smoke; others hurt their hands by breaking the train’s windows to escape.
Officials appeared to rule out terrorism as a cause of the blaze, one of the most serious incidents in the history of the tunnel that has made day trips between Paris and London possible by high-speed train.
French Transportation Minister Dominique Bussereau said the fire “likely resembles something accidental,” without elaborating.
The Channel Tunnel is actually three tunnels, each 130 feet beneath the sea bed. One carries passengers and freight from France to England, another runs in the opposite direction, and both connect to a third service tunnel, used for maintenace and emergency access.
