A massive fire broke out at a London train station on Monday afternoon.
About 100 firefighters are fighting the fire near Elephant and Castle station, the London Fire Service said at a news conference.
Videos posted on social media showed massive clouds of smoke rising into the air near South London Station, with witnesses reporting an explosion.
A video of a bystander shared on Twitter shows a huge fireball exploding from the side of the station.
First video from the scene of a fire at a railway bend in #ElephantCastle We had 10 fire trucks and 70 firefighters attended and answered almost fifty 999 calls. Please avoid the area. https://t.co/L6NNuDfThB
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) June 28, 2021
Sara Scarpa, 25, lives in a nearby apartment building. told the BBC that “We leave the window open for a moment.[ond] As you can hear people shouting We smelled something very strong.
“Smoke [was] Died a little… we heard the explosion And now it starts again,” she said.
The fire service said three commercial units beneath the train arch were set on fire. including six vehicles and a telephone booth. A man was being treated at the scene by paramedics, it said.
“There are a lot of road closures. And we ask people to avoid the area. And keep windows and doors closed while firefighters work to control the fire,” said Station Commander James Ryan, who was at the scene. said in a statement
“The station and nearby buildings have been evacuated.”
The cause of the fire is still unknown, however, police said. believed to be unrelated to terrorism at this stage
“Staff support @LondonFire in Elephant and Castle,” Southwark Police tweeted. and advise people to avoid the area This incident is not believed to be related to terrorism.”
Meanwhile, the nearby Southwark Playhouse has said it has opened its doors to everyone affected by the fire.
“We are aware of the fire at Elephant and Castle and we hope everyone is fine,” Southwark Playhouse tweeted. “If you have been evacuated and need somewhere to get to our door. Open to charge your phone, drink water or sit in our bar. We are at 77-85 Newington Causeway – two minutes from the station.”
This is breaking news and will be updated.
