Over 2,000 people evacuated from major underground blaze in central London

[Blackleaf]

More than 2,000 workers were forced to flee their offices when a fierce fire broke out beneath a street in central London.

Fire crews were called after thick black smoke was seen billowing up from a manhole cover on Kingsway, in Holborn, shortly after midday today.

The blaze is thought to have been caused by faulty electrical cables underground. Firefighters are waiting for utility companies to disconnect the power supplies before tackling the flames.

Police have declared a major incident and have closed the busy central London thoroughfare. The Strand underpass, which connects the road to Waterloo Bridge, is also closed.

Six fire engines and 35 firefighters and officers are at the scene, where a large safety cordon remains in place.

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said: 'We are still waiting for the utility companies and a steer on what we can do. The fire continues to still burn. '


Thousands of office workers evacuated as thick smoke billows up from fierce underground blaze in central London


More than 2,000 workers were forced to flee offices in Central London
Fire crews called after thick smoke was seen rising up from manhole cover
Blaze thought to have been caused by faulty electrical cables underground
Crews waiting for utility companies to cut off power before tackling flames

By Stephanie Linning for MailOnline
1 April 2015
Daily Mail

More than 2,000 workers were forced to flee their offices when a fierce fire broke out beneath a street in central London.

Fire crews were called after thick black smoke was seen billowing up from a manhole cover on Kingsway, in Holborn, shortly after midday today.

The blaze is thought to have been caused by faulty electrical cables underground. Firefighters are waiting for utility companies to disconnect the power supplies before tackling the flames.

Blaze: More than 2,000 workers were forced to flee their central London offices when a fire broke out beneath the pavement outside. Above, one of the buildings is seen engulfed in thick plumes of smoke

Flames: A fireman unravels a hose as the flames reach street level. Firemen are waiting for utility companies to disconnect the power supplies before they can 'effectively' tackle the flames

Road closure: Police have declared a major incident and have closed the busy central London thoroughfare

Police have declared a major incident and have closed the busy central London thoroughfare. The Strand underpass, which connects the road to Waterloo Bridge, is also closed.

Six fire engines and 35 firefighters and officers are at the scene, where a large safety cordon remains in place.

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said: 'We are still waiting for the utility companies and a steer on what we can do. The fire continues to still burn.

'There are a lot of electrical cables down there. But we cannot tackle it effectively until the power situation has been resolved.'

Fire crews were called after thick black smoke was seen billowing up from a manhole cover on Kingsway, in Holborn, shortly after midday today

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

The blaze is thought to have been caused by a faulty electrical junction box underground

He added that the fire is not connected to the London Underground but that Holborn Tube station has been closed for the purposes of traffic management.

A Transport for London (TfL) spokesman told MailOnline it is not yet known how long the station will be closed for. Ten London bus routes are also affected by the blaze.

TfL are advising all passengers to check real-time travel updates before starting their journey, adding that Tube tickets are being accepted on local buses.

Dramatic photographs from the scene show crowds of people crowding on to the street as power cuts hit office buildings. Thick clouds of smoke hang in the air and engulf entire buildings.

Roads were closed as firemen prepared to tackle the blaze, which continues to rage underground

Firemen are now waiting for utility companies to disconnect the power supplies before tackling the blaze

Police have closed the busy central London road and motorists are being advised to avoid the area

Smoke pours out from a manhole cover in Kingsway (LNP)

Smoke fills Kingsway in London where a large area has been cordoned off (LNP)

Firemen at the scene of the blaze in Kingsway (LNP)


More than 2,000 workers flee plumes of thick smoke engulfing central London offices as dramatic blaze takes hold* | Daily Mail Online
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[Tecumsehsbones]

Anybody dead?

 

[Blackleaf]

I don't think so, but tonight's West End shows, including The Lion King, Beautiful and The Play That Goes Wrong, have been cancelled.

​

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Are they in priority queue waiting for those utility workers?

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

I don't think so,

Too bad.

but tonight's West End shows, including The Lion King, Beautiful and The Play That Goes Wrong, have been cancelled.

So there is an upside.

 

[Blackleaf]

Are they in priority queue waiting for those utility workers?

Knowing central London, they'll still be waiting for them to turn up this time tomorrow. They have to get through the traffic.

 

[Blackleaf]

A huge underground fire which brought part of central London to a standstill last week may be linked to the heist of safety deposit boxes from the city's diamond district, a former police chief has claimed.

John O'Connor, former head of Scotland Yard's Flying Squad, said he believed the blaze in Holborn may have been started by the same gang that raided Hatton Garden Safety Deposit Ltd's basement vault, just over half a mile away, over the Easter weekend. The thieves are feared to have stolen gems and jewellery worth up to £200 million.

Premier League footballers were last night said to be among the possible victims of the theft. At least two jewellers who are understood to have used the security boxes carry out work for top players.

Only around half of the victims have so far been told that their boxes were targeted.

One jeweller still waiting to hear branded the police response to the thefts a "shambles."

Holborn fire 'could be linked to same gang behind Hatton Garden diamond heist'

Former head of Scotland Yard's Flying Squad believes blaze and raid may be linked

By Victoria Ward
09 Apr 2015
The Telegraph

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiCR2MOGepE&feature=player_detailpage

A huge underground fire which brought part of central London to a standstill last week may be linked to the heist of safety deposit boxes from the city's diamond district, a former police chief has claimed.

John O'Connor, former head of Scotland Yard's Flying Squad, said he believed the blaze in Holborn may have been started by the same gang that raided Hatton Garden Safety Deposit Ltd's basement vault, just over half a mile away, over the Easter weekend.

A police forensics officer emerges from the safe deposit centre in Hatton Garden in London's jewellery quarter (Getty)

He suggested that the power outage would have made the vault easier to access.

He told LBC radio: "(The police) may be connecting it to the underground fire at Holborn station which disabled all the electricty in that area for a period of time. I think that probably was deliberate.

"I've never heard of an outage of electricity like that causing a fire that lasted as long as that. That seems to me as too much of a coincidence."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezUW2U5tpwA&feature=player_detailpage

Barry Phillips, former operational head of the Flying Squad, said: "It's speculation but the fire could possibly have been linked to the heist.

"There's no denying that the fire will have diverted local police officers and other police resources.

"It would have taken resources away from local patrols and officers would have been reassigned to the fire, which isn't far away, its just round the corner."

The blaze broke out on Kingsway last Wednesday and took several hours to bring under control. lt was not fully extinguished until late on Thursday and led to widespread power outages and road closures in the area.

The burglars are believed to have broken into the safety deposit company two days later on Good Friday.

The London Fire Brigade believes the fire started due to an electrical fault in the Victorian tunnels which damaged an eight inch gas main which ruptured and fuelled the fire.

Investigators found that the 10 foot deep tunnel was well maintained and there was no sign of deliberate fire setting.

But whilst emergency crews were battling the fire, the diamond thieves were just around the corner, orchestrating a highly sophisticated raid.

They are believed to have spent most of the bank holiday weekend smashing their way through concrete walls and drilling through 18in-thick metal doors to access the vaults. They abseiled down a lift shaft and disabled all security systems before breaking into up to 70 safety deposit boxes. The thieves are feared to have stolen gems and jewellery worth up to £200 million.

Police are still trying to trace the owners of the company, at least two of whom are believed to be in Sudan.

Experts are convinced that the gang must have had inside information about the building's layout and security, although there is no evidence that the directors and staff of the business have done anything wrong.

A brand new alarm system had reportedly just been fitted but had not yet been switched on.

A burglar alarm did briefly sound on Good Friday but it was claimed that police who attended the scene did not fully investigate after noticing nothing amiss.

The sound of drilling and metal sawing could also have been ignored by local traders and residents because they assumed that it was tunnelling work for Crossrail, which had sent letters warning about tunnelling and demolition works while a new ticketing hall at Farringdon station, a few hundred yards away, was being built.

Premier League footballers were last night said to be among the possible victims of the theft. At least two jewellers who are understood to have used the security boxes carry out work for top players.

Only around half of the victims have so far been told that their boxes were targeted.

One jeweller still waiting to hear branded the police response to the thefts a "shambles."

"I've just gone in and been told that they've identified the owners of 30 boxes and the police are calling them to tell them," he said.

"But they're taking their time.

"I could run a better safe than these people, it's disgusting."

Experts have admitted there is little hope of recovering the stolen gems, which are likely to have already been recut and distributed overseas.

Mr O'Connor agreed with several other security sources who believe the gang would have had inside information.

He said: "(Police) are also going to be looking for where the inside information came from. If you know how to bypass all of the security devices, you're gonna have to have a detailed layout of the whole of the business. So clearly they got that from somebody on the inside."

He continued: "If I was a betting man, I would say they would arrest a handful of people that were involved in the actual obtaining of the diamonds - I doubt if they'll get the diamonds back."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said there was nothing to suggest the heist and the Holborn fire were linked but added: "We're looking at all lines of inquiry."


Video: Holborn fire 'could be linked to same gang behind Hatton Garden diamond heist' - Telegraph