26/02/2013 00:00
TW
0

...for PC Chris Sedgwick, a police trainee who happened to be on one of the five Eurostar trains returning from Disneyland, Paris, that broke down in the Channel Tunnel last 18 December. Although he was off-duty with his wife and young children, PC Sedgwick took charge of the chaotic situation in his train when he realised that Eurostar staff appeared to have gone into hiding, the Tannoy announcement system was not being used, air-conditioning, lighting and ventilation were out of action, temperatures and tempers were rising and one carriage was being used as an open toilet.

The official report published last week showed that 2'500 people, including many young children, were trapped in the trains in terrible conditions for as long as 11 hours. The report commends Chris Sedgwick who “stepped in and, according to passengers' reports, took control of the situation” and later supervised the evacuation to a rescuing shuttle train when “no Eurostar staff were visible and there was a lack of instructions.” The actions of PC Sedgwick, who was helped by two other off-duty policemen, is almost the only positive thing in a report which reveals minimal provision for handling such a dangerous situation.