Holborn horror: London in darkness after thousands flee major fire at underground tube

Power and phone lines went down and 5,000 homes and businesses were left without power after the fire broke out at the underground station. 

Some 2,000 people were evacuated from the underground station after smoke began to billow out of manholes.

Around 70 fire fighters and 10 fire engines were sent to the scene of the blaze after large plumes of thick black smoke surrounded buildings on Kingsway.

Dramatic pictures taken at the scene of the fire showed smoke billowing from manhole covers along with flames shooting up several feet into the air.

More than 200 people were evacuated from the London School of Economics (LSE) after a massive power cut was caused by the fire.

West End shows including the Lion King and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory were cancelled for the night.

Police declared the blaze, which the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said was an electrical fire, as a major incident.

Around 2,000 people were evacuated from nearby buildings after the fire started around lunchtime.

The Holborn tube station was also closed and Kingsway was shut by the Metropolitan Police.

Among those evacuated in the area were judges, lawyers and staff at the nearby Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand.

Onlookers reported "struggling to breathe" and "chaos" in the area as those evacuated waited on the street and traffic began to pile up.

Nicola Foxfield, 29, said: "I was walking from Covent Garden towards Holborn and I could smell burning in the air.

"As I got closer I could see fire engines everywhere then I could see loads of thick, brown smoke rising off the road.

"It's chaos and fire engines are coming from every direction and there are so many people around."

Another witness said he "struggled to breathe" as smoke seeped through the drains as he walked along Aldwych, at the bottom of Kingsway.

He said: "I had just cycled over Waterloo Bridge and as I approached Kingsway I saw a big crowd of people and smoke billowing towards me.

"The fire crews and police officers were beginning to cordon off the area. I was close enough to see thick black smoke puffing out of the drain grills and I struggled to breathe.

"Hundreds of people were leaving their buildings on Fleet Street and Kingsway."

Office workers were left waiting on the streets, while nearby shops and cafes were plunged in to darkness.

The fire was brought under control at 8.10pm. Crews from fire stations including Soho, Lambeth, Dowgate, Shoreditch and Euston attended the scene.

LFB Assistant Commissioner Peter Cowup said: “Crews worked closely with the various electricity companies involved to identify the source and extent of the fire which was underground. As this was likely to be an electrical fire we had to ensure the power was off before we applied water to extinguish it."

Stunned eyewitnesses flocked to social networking site Twitter to describe the scene of the blaze after it first broke out.

One user wrote: "Holborn is chaos. All the manholes on Kingsway are smoking."

Another added: "Fire burning so quickly-whole area engulfed #holborn".

While one Tweeter posted: "The fire in Holborn is worse. We are next to potentially evacuate. People are getting crazily close to it. Stay back!"