Eurotunnel, the company that operates the tunnel under the English Channel separating France and Britain, has said that a fire has broken out in the tunnel causing undersea traffic to be suspended.

The French interior ministry said no one had been killed in the blaze, which was caused when a chemicals truck caught fire on a shuttle train as it was being transported between the two countries.

Eurotunnel said all passengers had been evacuated safely and that firefighters, who are now examining the site, had quickly extinguished the blaze.

An official from the company, who wished to remain anonymous, said the fire broke out 11km from the French side of the tunnel at 1400 GMT.

The official said 32 people, all believed to be lorry drivers, were aboard the shuttle train where the fire broke out.

Twelve people were said to be suffering from smoke inhalation.

SNCF, the French rail operator, said rail traffic through the tunnel, which is 50.5km in length, would be suspended until Friday.

Estelle Youssouffa, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Paris, said: "A truck carrying liquids exploded inside the tunnel. French authorities say they have no information as to why the explosion happened. It is likely to cause major disruption... to passengers.

Michele Alliot-Marie, the French interior minister, was said to be travelling to the scene.

Fires have broken out in the past on the tunnel, which opened for commercial traffic in 1994, but they are rare.

In August 2006, the tunnel was closed for several hours after a fire broke out on a truck loaded onto a freight train. No one was hurt.

A larger fire broke out aboard a train carrying heavy good vehicles through the tunnel on November 18, 1996.

No one was killed but several people were injured and a large stretch of the tunnel was damaged.

The fire led to new safety precautions for trains using the tunnel.