A woman has told of how she had to flee the Dartford Tunnel with her baby grandson, along with hundreds of other people, after a fire broke out.
The driver, who did not want to be named, said her family were among those forced to evacuate at around 4pm today (Thursday), in an incident which caused huge tailbacks.
The woman, who is in her 40s and from the Maidstone area, told KentOnline: “It was very, very scary – really frightening. Especially as we had a newborn baby
“There were all sorts of people, such as elderly trying to get out this tunnel.”
The group – two women and two men, plus the baby – were on their way to a family birthday celebration in Lakeside in Essex. But they were snarled up in a mass of rush-hour traffic because of a vehicle fire further ahead, close to the exit.
The family’s ordeal began after their car entered the 0.8-mile-long tunnel at about 4pm.
The woman said: “The traffic all slowed down. The next minute, nobody was moving, and people were getting out of their vehicles. We were all standing there, not knowing what to do.
“Then we just heard people shouting that everyone had to evacuate the tunnel. There were so many people trying to get out.
“Everyone had evacuated their vehicles, and we all had to walk right the way down the other end of the tunnel.”
The family were separated from their car for 60 to 90 minutes, but say they were well cared for by National Highways officials who were keeping people safe.
The woman said: “They were ever so kind. They even got a van and took us back to their base, where we could have a cup of tea.”
The woman estimates that around 50 cars were stuck and a couple of hundred people.
She says: “The main thing is everybody was safe, and we all got out safe, and I presume whoever was driving the burning vehicle got out safely too.”
A spokesperson for Kent Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called to assist following reports of a van alight on the Dartford Crossing.
“Five fire engines attended, and on arrival, a van was found to be heavily smoking due to an engine fault.
“No injuries were reported.”
The woman says her car was undamaged and the family were eventually able to drive to Lakeside that evening for the celebration.
Traffic was held until around 6.30pm, but long queues persisted for several hours after the tunnel reopened.
