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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2015/jun/23/cross-channel-trains-suspended-strike-french-ferry-workers-calais
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| Cross-channel trains suspended amid strike by French ferry workers - live | Cross-channel trains suspended amid strike by French ferry workers - live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 4.40pm BST16:40 | |
| Alexandra Topping | |
| Ola Odugbesan, a 59-year-old physician from Atlanta explained that he had been trapped on a Eurostar for two hours at st Pancras with little information about what was going on. | |
| “I’m visiting from the States and I think it’s outrageous the way Eurostar have treated their passengers,” he said. | |
| “We have non refundable accommodation booked in Paris, and now we will have to find somewhere to sleep tonight. They should refund all the tickets and pay for accommodation.” | |
| Staff could be heard telling people who were asking that question that there was “no guarantee” they would be reimbursed. | |
| Valiant attempts of police man to be heard in St Pancras chaos. #eurostar pic.twitter.com/9cYyqYausU | |
| At one point a community support officer told the swelling crowds: “Anyone who needs to get to Paris today there are no ferries and the tunnel is closed. The best advice is to find an alternative as quickly as possible.” | |
| 4.37pm BST16:37 | |
| Alexandra Topping | |
| There were chaotic scenes at St Pancras in London where angry people looking to take the Eurostar this afternoon were told that all services had been cancelled “due to a fire caused by activists in the euro tunnel”. | |
| Community support police provided support to Eurostar staff to explain to the situation, explaining that damage had to be assessed before any trains could leave. | |
| Passengers were told that it would be tomorrow before any trains could leave for Paris, and tickets could be exchanged. | |
| Lots of tears, anguish and frenzied internet activity here at St Pancras. All #Eurostar trains have been cancelled. pic.twitter.com/vVmuTZrkyH | |
| As the increasingly disgruntled crowds gathered around harassed looking staff they were told the ticket office was closing and all exchanges had to be made online. | |
| But clients complained that they had no computers or connection, others said that the site kept crashing under the weight of demand. | |
| One tearful woman could be heard telling a community support officer that she had to be in Paris by tomorrow morning to catch a return flight to Australia. “I have three children waiting for me to get home,” she said. | |
| Samy, a 42-year-old from Paris said the information given by staff was “pathetic”. “I am meant to be in work at 4pm today, which I won’t make now. And if I can find a hotel fortnight who is going to pay for it. They say rebook online but I haven’t got a smart phone to do that?”. | |
| 4.31pm BST16:31 | |
| Eurostar has an online form for passengers whose train has been cancelled or if the company has advised to postpone travel to exchange or refund tickets. It can be found here. | |
| 4.27pm BST16:27 | |
| My colleague Damien Gayle has spoken to a couple from Shrewsbury who are stuck in a hotel in the French port after they discovered the ferry terminal was blocked. He writes: | |
| Paula and Bill Brady said they were was no way off the motorway once they reached the port and, after finding themselves on the road to Belgium, they turned back to Calais. | |
| As they returned they saw hundreds of migrants by the sides of the snarled up motorway trying to find their way into and onto vehicles they though might be bound for Britain. | |
| Paula said: “When we started going back there was just queues of traffic and all these migrants were just sat on the side of the road. | |
| “They were sitting there trying to get on trucks. We saw a transporter with cars on it, they tried to get on that. It was quite frightening really. | |
| “We saw them open the door to one van. We saw them trying to get in these new cars, weighing up whether they could get underneath. I was going to take photos but I was too scared.” | |
| Bill added: “All these people were running around looking in lorries, underneath lorries, on top of lorries.” He said he didn’t know how they all got word of the jam, given that migrant camps were some distance away. “We had the doors locked and the windows shut,” he added. | |
| The Bradys’ son Andrew attempted to contact P&O Ferries over Twitter for help. | |
| @POferries Hello - my parents are in Calais waiting to cross. If they can get a hotel, can they use their ferry tickets tomorrow? | |
| 4.24pm BST16:24 | |
| Travellers in Calais are posting images and sharing their experiences of the gridlock on social media. Here’s a selection of tweets. | |
| From Chris Cary, a British lorry driver | |
| The life of a trucker stranded in Calais pic.twitter.com/ZPgU8xLttm | |
| Twitter user “Pirmasen” who describes himself as a Berufskraftfahrer, which in German roughly means “professional driver”. | |
| #Calais pic.twitter.com/wN59sMOjPx | |
| Michelle McGee, who describes herself as Irish, living in south London | |
| No movement here for a few hours #Calais pic.twitter.com/Gowepb6DF0 | |
| 4.07pm BST16:07 | 4.07pm BST16:07 |
| Transport companies have been forced to suspend services to Calais due to the strike by employees of the French ferry company MyFerryLink, who are protesting against plans to sell two of their ferries to rival firm DFDS. | |
| The action has caused severe disruption on both sides of the Channel. In the UK, police implemented Operation Stack, where lorries are parked on the M20 in Kent and non-freight traffic diverted off the motorway, as freight traffic on the roads approaching the Port of Dover increases. | The action has caused severe disruption on both sides of the Channel. In the UK, police implemented Operation Stack, where lorries are parked on the M20 in Kent and non-freight traffic diverted off the motorway, as freight traffic on the roads approaching the Port of Dover increases. |
| TRAFFIC: #OpStack is likely to remain in place on the #M20 through the night and into tomorrow due to industrial action in #Calais | TRAFFIC: #OpStack is likely to remain in place on the #M20 through the night and into tomorrow due to industrial action in #Calais |
| Eurotunnel is advising against all but essential travel | Eurotunnel is advising against all but essential travel |
| If your journey is not essential, we recommend that you postpone your trip today. ^LD | If your journey is not essential, we recommend that you postpone your trip today. ^LD |
| And Eurostar, which runs services to Paris and Brussels, is not able to run any trains through the tunnel. | And Eurostar, which runs services to Paris and Brussels, is not able to run any trains through the tunnel. |
| We are currently unable to run any trains through the tunnel due to a fire outside caused by @MyFerryLink demonstrators. Updates to follow. | We are currently unable to run any trains through the tunnel due to a fire outside caused by @MyFerryLink demonstrators. Updates to follow. |
| Ferry operator DFDS has suspended services to Calais and reported delays to Dunkirk. | Ferry operator DFDS has suspended services to Calais and reported delays to Dunkirk. |
| Dover-Calais: Services are still suspended due to the industrial action at the Port of Calais. Proceed to port to be transferred to Dunkirk. | Dover-Calais: Services are still suspended due to the industrial action at the Port of Calais. Proceed to port to be transferred to Dunkirk. |
| P&O is hopeful to resume services at 7.30pm but has no ship movements since early this morning. | P&O is hopeful to resume services at 7.30pm but has no ship movements since early this morning. |
| [Calais] Based on current information we hope to commence operation at approx. 19h30 in Calais. Next update at 16h30 | [Calais] Based on current information we hope to commence operation at approx. 19h30 in Calais. Next update at 16h30 |
| [Calais] Calais Port closed due to Industrial Action by MFL. Currently no ships movements in Port. | [Calais] Calais Port closed due to Industrial Action by MFL. Currently no ships movements in Port. |
| Updated at 4.11pm BST | |
| 3.52pm BST15:52 | 3.52pm BST15:52 |
| There are some incredible images coming into the Guardian picture desk of the unfolding chaos in Calais. Here’s a selection: | There are some incredible images coming into the Guardian picture desk of the unfolding chaos in Calais. Here’s a selection: |
| 3.47pm BST15:47 | 3.47pm BST15:47 |
| What we know so far | What we know so far |
| Welcome to the live coverage of the travel chaos sparked by a chaotic combination of protest and industrial action in Calais. | Welcome to the live coverage of the travel chaos sparked by a chaotic combination of protest and industrial action in Calais. |
| The UK’s main transport links to the continent have been left at a standstill after protesters in the French port “broke into” the channel tunnel, prompting all Eurotunnel services to be suspended for safety reasons. | The UK’s main transport links to the continent have been left at a standstill after protesters in the French port “broke into” the channel tunnel, prompting all Eurotunnel services to be suspended for safety reasons. |
| A wildcat strike by French ferry workers had already caused the cancellation of cross-channel ferry services, leaving the south of England without its two main transport routes to northern France. | A wildcat strike by French ferry workers had already caused the cancellation of cross-channel ferry services, leaving the south of England without its two main transport routes to northern France. |
| The UK government advised holidaymakers and lorry drivers travelling through Calais to be extra vigilant amid reports that migrants were attempting to exploit the disruption to break into the back of the gridlocked vehicles. | The UK government advised holidaymakers and lorry drivers travelling through Calais to be extra vigilant amid reports that migrants were attempting to exploit the disruption to break into the back of the gridlocked vehicles. |
| #Calais pic.twitter.com/bmrJijrX9V | #Calais pic.twitter.com/bmrJijrX9V |
| Updated at 3.51pm BST | Updated at 3.51pm BST |