A hundred firefighters have brought a huge blaze in Elephant and Castle under control after a fireball ripped through arches under the station.
This afternoon (June 28) London Fire Brigade confirmed three commercial units were ‘completely’ alight along with six cars and a telephone box.
Residents were told to keep their doors and windows closed as black smoke, visible from across the city, engulfed the area.
In an update shared shortly before 4pm, LFB said its crews would remain at the scene to dampen down the affected buildings and road closures remained in place.
So far there has been no update on injuries or how the fire started from LFB. The Met has confirmed that at this stage it does not believe the fire is terror related.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted that two people, a police officer and a member of the public, were being treated for smoke inhalation.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson told the News: “We were called at 1.50pm today (28 June) to reports of a fire near Elephant and Castle station.
“We sent a number of ambulance crews, incident response officers and specialist response teams to the scene, including our hazardous area response team.
“They remain at the scene where they are working alongside other emergency services.”
Images and videos circulating online appear to show the fire starting inside railway arches behind the overground station just before 2pm.
In one, a huge fireball explodes from the commercial unit in front of dozens of passersby.
At least a hundred evacuated from nearby buildings with no idea when they can return
Over the last hour a huge evacuation has been underway, with the surrounding area cordoned off and closed to traffic.
About a hundred people evacuated from buildings close to the scene were stood on New Kent Road this afternoon.
Antonio and David, who run a pizza restaurant, which only opened six weeks ago, said they were ‘very scared’ by the ordeal.
“We heard the noise and straight away decided to close up for the day,” manager Antonio told us.
“Thirty seconds later the police ran in and told us to get out, and we said ‘we’re ahead of you!'”
He praised the emergency services’ response, describing the police as ‘very organised’.
Several people wearing headphones attempted to jog through the cordon, seemingly unaware of the emergency response.
One man asked to be let through to fetch his charger, saying he needed to call work to let them know he would be late. He was rebuffed by officers.
Those who do need refuge, a drink, or somewhere to charge their phones, Southwark Playhouse has thrown its doors open. The playhouse is based at 77-85 Newington Causeway.