A large fire has broken out under a major rail line in central London.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) said the blaze is believed have started at some garages close to Elephant and Castle railway station.
The incident was first reported at 1.43pm on Monday.
Ten fire engines and 70 firefighters are at the scene.
A video posted on social media showed a small explosion appear to erupt from inside the station.
Three commercial units underneath the railway arches are completely alight and four cars and a telephone box are also alight near #ElephantandCastle Railway Station. Road closures are in place and people are advised to avoid the area and keep windows and doors closed pic.twitter.com/yALJKnVd8d
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) June 28, 2021
There is a huge plume of smoke billowing above the area.
The fire has caused disruption to some rail services.
There are now 15 fire engines and around 100 firefighters tackling the fire in #ElephantandCastle. Our 999 Control Officers have taken 44 calls to the blaze pic.twitter.com/AwZBnv2T6M
Advertisement— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) June 28, 2021
Sara Scarpa (25) lives in nearby apartment building and said smoke and the noise of the explosion had reached her window.
“We opened the window for a sec as you could hear people shouting, and we smelt something very very strong,” she said.
“The smoke [was] dying down a little… we heard an explosion and now it started again.”
