Collision in Coquelles: 19 injured after a minibus hit a shuttle from the Channel tunnel

An accident on a boarding dock, not in the underwater part of the tunnel: Thursday, 15 October 2026, at 7:27 p.m., a minibus carrying drivers hit a railway shuttle on the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles, near Calais. The 19 occupants of the vehicle were injured, two of them seriously. During the press conference held in the evening, the Calais sub-prefect, Agathe Cury, assured that no vital prognosis was committed. TF1 Info, RTS and 20 Minutes report the same event and balance sheet. [S1] [S2] [S6]

A shock against a shuttle ready to start

Two shuttles were on both sides of the wharf. One was loading heavy goods vehicles; The other, already loaded, was ready at the start. According to the sub-prefect's explanations, it was this second train that the minibus hit. Several reports describe it at the stop: the expression "at the start" does not mean that the train was in motion. [S1] [S2] [S5]

Associated Press reports, based on a prefectural statement, that the minibus deviated from its path before touching the side of the shuttle. The reason for this gap remains unknown. The vehicle was carrying drivers of heavy goods vehicles who were preparing to take LeShuttle; his driver, himself injured, was a Eurotunnel agent. [S30] [S1]

The first descriptions were corrected during the evening. The direct TF1 Info initially evoked a minibus overturned on the rails, then hit by a train. Subsequent statements from the sub-prefect establish, on the contrary, that the minibus struck the row and remained standing. This clarification is also reported by Voice of the North. [S15] [S28]

Two emergency evacuations to Lille

According to 20 Minutes, the prefecture's final report holds two people in absolute emergency and 17 others slightly injured. The two most seriously injured were carried to Lille; the others were distributed among the surrounding hospitals. This assessment follows the initial reports of four or five people in absolute emergency. These figures should therefore not be added together, which correspond to successive results of the same accident. [S6] [S1] [S26] [S10]

The 19 wounded were all in the minibus. The Voice of the North also reports the evacuation of 18 people present on the railway shuttle, taken over by Eurotunnel: this is a separate group of injured occupants of the road vehicle. Since the victims were of several nationalities, the consulates concerned were informed. [S30] [S28] [S2]

A medical-psychological emergency cell has been set up to accompany the persons concerned. The intervention involved 55 firefighters, emergency medical personnel, some 20 police officers and about 100 Eurotunnel officers. In addition to evacuations, this support must enable those in need to benefit from post-shock support. [S6] [S28]

Limited interruption to LeShuttle

LeShuttle's passenger traffic was suspended for about an hour and a half to allow emergency response and evacuation. At approximately 10:30 p.m., the sub-prefect announced a return to normal. This interruption did not correspond to a general closure of the tunnel: Eurostar trains and freight traffic were not affected, according to the authorities. [S14] [S16] [S28]

Eurostar confirms in its service information that none of its trains were involved and that the incident had no impact on its traffic from and to London. The distinction is important for passengers: the accident involved operations on a terminal dock and shuttles carrying vehicles, not all trans-manche rail services. [S29] [S30]

Causes and responsibilities still to be established

The prosecutor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Cécile Gressier, confirmed the opening of an investigation for involuntary injuries. At this stage, the elements made public do not allow the impact to be attributed to driving fault, technical failure or terminal organization. The driver's Eurotunnel status is not sufficient to establish his or his employer's liability. [S1] [S5] [S14]

BFMTV reports, from a judicial source, that the driver must be subjected to the usual tests, without communicating the results. These verifications therefore show no fault. For both the injured and the driver, the challenge remains to determine precisely the circumstances of the collision, without turning the first assumptions into conclusions. [S14]