Drivers stranded in Chunnel
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• An Aberdeen owner-driver has slammed Eurotunnel for treating drivers "like prisoners" during a ten-and-a-half-hour ordeal.
Drivers were stranded in the tunnel for up to three hours because of an electrical fault. The shuttle ground to a halt mid-way through the tunnel at about 18:00hrs—it was not until 21:30hrs that the train was pulled onto British soil.
Haulier Ally Shaw says he and other drivers were escorted to offices and guarded to ensure they could not wander off. But they were not allowed to return to their trucks until 04:30hrs.
"All we wanted to do was to check into some accommodation as some of us had been up for a long time," he says. 'But at about 12:30-12:45hrs all they could give us was a box of blankets."
Shaw adds that several Spanish drivers became very agitated on the train as nobody could speak their language. "The language barrier is a big problem and they seemed to be very disorganised. And I think there is a lot of room for improvement regarding emergency procedures," he says.
Eurotunnel admits the delay was excessive but claims it tried to make the drivers comfortable.