Tunnel blaze still burning

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More than 300 French and British firefighters tackled the blaze overnight and have just "mastered" it, Gerard Gavory, the sub-prefect of Calais said.

The fire broke out on Thursday afternoon on board a freight train, leaving six people slightly injured and forcing the tunnel's closure.

Mr Gavory said: "The fire has been brought under control - it is not entirely out but we have mastered it. But we have to do more investigations and these will take a few hours.

"We had 200 firemen involved in the operation from our side and maybe 100 from the English side although I can't give you a precise figure."

France's transport minister Dominique Bussereau told French radio station Europe-1 the cause "likely resembles something accidental".

The blaze broke out on Thursday just before 3pm on a train carrying lorries from Folkestone to Calais. Thirty-two people were evacuated, including seven British nationals. They were led to safety through a service tunnel and picked up by another train. All those injured were treated for smoke inhalation.

French authorities confirmed that there was a vehicle containing around 100kg (220lb) of a chemical known as phenol - also known as carbolic acid - close to the site on fire.

But a spokesman for local police said that it did not make the situation any more dangerous and the source of the blaze has not been identified.

The closure caused huge tailbacks on roads near the tunnel entrance as dozens of lorries were forced to park on the M20 and other surrounding roads.