**Eurotunnel has accused Eurostar of ignoring safety rules when evacuating passengers from trains last weekend.**The Channel Tunnel operator said evacuations were prolonged because people took bags with them “in complete violation” of safety procedures.
It also rejected claims it contributed to the chaos when 2,000 people were trapped in five broken down trains.
Eurostar was unavailable for comment on Friday but last week blamed Eurotunnel for poor communication.
‘Movement of worry’
On Christmas Day the tunnel group also criticised Eurostar’s passenger communication after the breakdowns, caused by condensation entering the high-speed trains’ electrical systems.
“We have been unjustly suspected in some quarters of not reacting in an appropriate way”
Eurotunnel statement
In a statement it said: “Although in continued contact with our teams, it is clear the Eurostar teams obviously did not give the right information to passengers.”
It added this had “led to a movement of worry”.
Eurostar has admitted a communications failure, but has also partly blamed Eurotunnel, which it said was responsible for evacuations and relaying information to passengers in the tunnel.
But Eurotunnel said its staff had reacted quickly to help stranded passengers and had not failed to communicate with them.
Its statement said: “Although… our teams took actions in a rapid and professional manner going beyond their normal responsibilities, we have been unjustly suspected in some quarters of not reacting in an appropriate way.”
Some passengers spent 17 hours trapped in the tunnel in icy conditions last Friday night.
Eurostar cancelled all services for three days to establish what went wrong and carry out safety tests.
The company said it would run a normal service on 26 December, with 40 trains on the regular routes linking London with Paris and Brussels.
An independent review is now being carried out into what happened.
As well as providing tunnel services, Eurotunnel also runs its own cross-Channel shuttle services for cars and freight carriers.