The Eurostar Channel Tunnel train service between the United Kingdom and France and Belgium remained suspended for most of Tuesday - because of salt on the line.

Passenger chaos on the railway line from London to Paris was compounded when reports emerged that a helicopter had crashed on the line in northern France.

Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown said the crash occurred on Tuesday afternoon in the Haut Picardy region, cutting power lines.

But the company said it had now resumed a service, running its last two trains of the evening from London to Paris and Brussels.

The helicopter incident followed severe storms which swept across much of Western Europe, depositing large quantities of salt, whipped up from the stormy seas, onto tracks and overhead power lines in northern France.

"It's an exceptional situation due to the storms on Sunday

SNCF spokesman

Up to 7,000 passengers were left stranded overnight on Monday when the service was first suspended.

A spokesman for French national railway SNCF said all trains were suspended until further notice, and advised passengers to cancel their journeys.

Tens of thousands of French homes were also left without power because of the salt damage. Sand whipped up by the winds had also built up on power lines.

Estimates late on Tuesday said 30,000 homes were affected.

We didn't have any information... I slept here, in the cold, without covers

Stranded English passenger

Eurostar train services through the tunnel were halted at 1730 GMT on Monday, as salt crystallised on the equipment, causing short circuits.

"It's an exceptional situation due to the storms on Sunday," said an SNCF spokesman.

French engineers were battling on Tuesday to try to rectify the problem, but passengers were being urged to delay their journeys if possible.

"Traffic is totally interrupted in the area around Calais," SNCF spokesman Guillaume Pepy told a news conference.

Hotel hunt

Passengers who have to cancel their travel plans will be reimbursed, while anyone who got stranded in mid-journey will get a free ticket for a future journey.

Some UK travellers were left with no idea how they would get home

Officials said it was impossible to transfer all Tuesday's would-be passengers to Channel ports because not enough buses could be laid on.

Monday's suspension, involving the cancellation of 15 services, left the 7,000 passengers completely stuck. Some were forced to sleep on trains, while others managed to find hotel rooms for the night.

Paris, Lille and Calais were among the stations where passengers were left stranded.

"We didn't have any information. I slept here, in the cold, without covers," said an English pensioner who spent the night in a train at Lille station.

At least six trains were reportedly stuck during their journeys in France, Belgium and the UK when the problem first came to light. No passengers were stuck in the tunnel itself, said officials.

EuroDisney

Thousands more travellers had their journeys disrupted as the chaos continued into Tuesday.

Some passengers trying to get from Paris to London switched their journeys to the air.

One plane was specially chartered to take 700 people, most of them British, from Eurostar's EuroDisney terminal to London, said the French rail operator SNCF.

Belgian officials laid on a bus service to Calais to connect with cross-Channel ferries.

The storms left more than 30 people dead across Western Europe. Many were killed by falling trees and flying debris.

Wind speeds in Germany reached 183 km/h (114 mph).