Blackwall Tunnel from immigrants; the tunnel lining was manufactured in Glasgow, while the manual labour came from provincial England, particularly Yorkshire. The tunnel was officially opened by the Prince of Wales on 22 May 1897. The total cost of the tunnel was £1.4 M and 800 men were employed in its construction, during which seven deaths were recorded. The southern entrance gateway to the tunnel, also known as Southern Tunnel House, was designed by LCC architect Thomas Blashill and was built just before the tunnel was completed. It comprises two floors with an attic. Today the western bore is only used for
2008 Channel Tunnel fire 2008 Channel Tunnel fire The 2008 Channel Tunnel fire occurred on 11 September 2008 in the Channel Tunnel. The incident involved a France-bound Eurotunnel Shuttle train carrying heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and their drivers. The fire lasted for sixteen hours and reached temperatures of up to 1000 °C. Of the thirty-two people on board the train, fourteen people suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation and were taken to hospital. When the fire was reported, the tunnel was immediately shut to all services except emergency traffic. The undamaged south tunnel was reopened on 13 September with a freight train entering the