Blaze in manhole brings West End to a halt
THOUSANDS of office workers were evacuated and eight West End shows cancelled last night after an underground blaze caused flames and acrid smoke to pour from manholes in central London.
Commuters faced travel chaos after the electrical fire broke out under one of the capital’s busiest roads.
Police were forced to declare a ‘major incident’ as onlookers reported they were ‘struggling to breathe’ amid the plumes of thick black smoke billowing from underground access hatches in the Holborn area.
More than 2,000 people, including judges sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand, were evacuated over fears the blaze would spread to street-level buildings.
Dramatic images showed empty smokefilled streets and emergency workers in face masks. Nearby shops and offices were plunged into darkness as electricity was cut.
Around seven hours after the blaze began, fire crews appeared to have it under control, having smashed open a manhole at the centre of the area and poured water in.
But at least eight West End shows, including The Lion King, were cancelled due to power outages – and 5,000 homes and businesses were left without electricity. Hundreds of phone lines were cut off. Benedict Cum- berbatch’s appearance at Letters Live at the Freemasons’ Hall – celebrating famous literary correspondences – was also cancelled.
Ten fire engines and 70 firefighters were called to the blaze, believed to be a result of a faulty electrical junction box, at around 12.30pm. One witness said: ‘I had just cycled over Waterloo Bridge … close enough to see thick black smoke puffing out of the drain grills and I struggled to breathe.’
Amar Garcha, 34, an IT worker in a nearby building, said: ‘The lights started to flash on and off … I thought the building was on fire … it did feel like something out of a movie.’