Around 600 passengers have been rescued from a London to Paris Eurostar train after being trapped for five hours just minutes from London's Waterloo station.
Some passengers were reported to have tried to smash windows to get air into the carriages of the cross-channel train, which was stuck on a bridge.
The position of the train on the 50ft bridge made it difficult for passengers to escape and for police and Eurostar mechanics to get access to it, a British Transport Police spokesman explained.
A passenger rang police to inform them of the problem at 8.30pm last night, three and a half hours after the train broke down.
The BTP spokesman said: "Officers boarded the train at 21.06 and found passengers pretty irate. There was a report of one French man with a cut hand."
"We had reports of persons trying to smash windows in an attempt to get air into the carriage or to get out but we have had no confirmation of that.
The train was towed into Waterloo station at around 10.30pm.
Eurostar arranged for taxis and accommodation in local hotels for passengers, says the BTP spokesman.
PA