Thursday, 2 April 2015

London's blackout: Underground fire in West End leaves 5,000 homes and businesses in darkness



Some 5,000 homes and businesses in central London were left without electricity last night after an underground fire caused a huge power cut.
Phone lines went down, thousands of workers fled their offices and High Court judges were evacuated when the fierce blaze broke out yesterday.
Firefighters were called to Holborn in the West End after thick black smoke was seen billowing up from a manhole cover shortly after midday.
Onlookers reported ‘struggling to breathe’ and ‘chaos’ in the area as those evacuated waited on the street and traffic began to pile up.
West End shows including The Lion King, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Play That Goes Wrong were cancelled last night. 


Darkness: A London bus and a car drive through the West End near the Lyceum Theatre, where The Lion King was cancelled last night
Darkness: Thousands of buildings in the area to the centre right of this photo - taken from the London Eye - were without electricity last night
St Mary le Strand in Aldwych pictured in darkness

Up in the air: Flames are seen escaping from a manhole cover as fire crews tend to an underground cable fire in central London

Firefighters tend to the blaze: Judges were evacuated and thousands of workers fled their offices when a fierce fire broke out in central London

Smoke fills Kingsway where a large area was cordoned off

Smoke escapes from underground in London

Dramatic photographs from the scene yesterday showed crowds of people on the street as power cuts hit office buildings.
By 7.20pm, firefighters appeared to have the burning manhole under control after smashing it open with sledgehammers and drenching it with water.
When the hole was widened the team moved in and directed two jets of water into the pit in an attempt to fully extinguish the underground blaze.
The blaze was said to have been caused by faulty electrical cables underground, sending thick clouds of smoke into the air - engulfing buildings.
Fire was running along a three-metre wide tunnel that runs for 400metres  between Great Queen Street and Aldwych in central London.
Earlier yesterday, fire crews said they were waiting for utility companies to disconnect the power supplies before tackling the flames.
The High Court will also be closed today due to the problems - although the Rolls Building will still be open for urgent cases, reported The Guardian.

Blaze: More than 2,000 workers were forced to flee their central London workplaces when the fire broke out in the Holborn area

An underground fire breaks out on Kingsway

Thousands of people were forced to flee office buildings as police declared a 'major incident'

Having a look: Members of the public watch on from behind a police cordon as fire crews tend to an underground fire in the Holborn area

Firefighters: When the hole was widened the team moved in and directed two jets of water into the pit in an attempt to fully extinguish the blaze
Flames: A firefighter unravels a hose as the flames reach the street. Firefighters are waiting for utility companies to disconnect power supplies

Staying claer: Flames emerge from a manhole cover at street level near the Civil Aviation Authority building on Kingsway

Chaos: Crowds of people were forced on to the street in Holborn after they were evacuated from nearby buildings





'Chaos': Onlookers reported they were 'struggling to breathe' in the area as those evacuated waited on the street and traffic began to pile up

Outside: This photograph posted on Twitter from Kemble Street shows the scenes on the streets as people are evacuated


Source:Daily Mail

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