Traffic through the Channel Tunnel was halted on Saturday after smoke was detected from an unknown source, said Eurotunnel, the operator of the crossing between Britain and France. A Eurotunnel spokeswoman told Reuters that passengers had been evacuated from a Calais-Dover shuttle train without incident due to the smoke. The company said on its website that it was investigating. Eurostar, which operates train services through the tunnel between Paris, London and Brussels, said separately on its website that no trains could run on Saturday following the closure. "We are unable to run any further trains today because Eurotunnel has been closed due to smoke detected in the north tunnel," Eurostar said on its website, recommending passengers postpone journeys and not come to stations. Trains en route were ordered to return to their original stations, Eurostar also said. France has been on high alert since Islamist militants killed 17 people in three days of violence in Paris that began on Jan. 7 with an attack on the offices of a satirical newspaper. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/120541.aspx
