Holborn Underground Blaze Affected Central London: No Injuries, But Blackout!!

Due to a huge power cut in Central London, almost 5000 homes and business have no electricity last night. A fierce blaze broke out in Central London which led to a huge chaos, as phone lines were not working, workers left their offices and judges have to leave court. A thick black smoke had been observed puffing up from a manhole at Holborn in Westend when firefighters were informed.

According to the witnesses, there was immense struggling for breath and the area was fully stacked which led to huge piling up of street and traffic. Last night shows of The Lion King, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Play that Goes Wrong have been also cancelled.

In the evening  by 7:20 pm, firefighters took control of the burning manhole as they smashed opened it with sledgehammers and drenched lots of water there. After the widening of the hole, two jets of water were also directed to extinguish the underground blaze completely.

Underground faulty cables were the cause of this huge blaze followed by thick smoky clouds in the air and surrounded all the nearby buildings. Within a three-meter wide tunnel which is almost of 400 meters in length, i.e. between Great Queen Street and Aldwych in Central London. High Court will remain closed for another day, whereas Rolls Building will be opened for some urgent cases.

Another show, Letters Live at Freemasons’ Hall has been cancelled last night which stars Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch! There were ten fire engines and 70 firefighters an officers. No injuries reported!

According to the assistant commissioner of London Fire Brigade, Peter Cowup, “Crews worked closely with the various electricity companies involved to identify the source and extent of the fire which was underground.”

He further added, “As this was likely to be an electrical fire we had to ensure the power was off before we applied water to extinguish it. We worked with our partners and implemented a well-rehearsed plan to prevent the fire from spreading and to protect surrounding properties.

'The power has now been isolated and so the fire is contained. Crews are now able to access what remains of the fire and will be at the scene into the night damping down.” According to a spokesperson, the fire also affected ten bus routes in London.