A gas leak in central London has closed Charing Cross station and sparked chaos after 1,450 people were forced to leave hotels and a world-famous nightclub at 2am.
The major evacuation was launched after a gas main ruptured in the Strand in the early hours of this morning.
Witnesses described ‘chaos’ as doormen at the Heaven nightclub ordered them to leave, while guests staying at the Amba Hotel were moved into emergency accommodation.
It is likely to cause chaos on the railways and London Underground on Tuesday morning as thousands of commuters try to get to work.
Police have cordoned off the road surrounding Charing Cross station following the gas leak
Charing Cross (pictured) has been closed following the gas leak in central London this morning
Tavinho Costa was staying at the nearby Amba Hotel and said that the ‘whole hotel’ was evacuated’
Heaven nightclub (pictured) was closed and revellers were told to leave during the ‘chaotic’ scenes
At least 110,000 people use Charing Cross – London’s fifth busiest station – every day and commuters travelling from Kent have seen services cancelled and trains are set to be affected up until midday.
Waterloo East station has also been closed and the area surrounding Charing Cross has been cordoned off by police. Services have been diverted into Victoria, Cannon Street and Blackfriars.
One partygoer described the chaotic scenes in Heaven this morning and said there was a ‘crush on the stairs’ and security at the venue were being ‘pushed aside’.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) said it was called to the scene after high levels of natural gas were detected at the scene in Craven Street.
The Strand, a major route through central London, has been closed entirely and a 150m cordon was put in place.
An LFB spokesman said: ‘We are assisting police on the Strand after a ruptured gas main was discovered using detection equipment and high levels of natural gas were detected in the atmosphere.
‘As a precaution, approximately 1,450 people have been evacuated. They are from a hotel and a night club.
‘The Strand is completely closed and we are asking people to avoid the area.
‘We do not know the cause of the gas leak at this stage. It is ongoing and engineers are down at the scene trying to isolate the leak. There are still high readings of natural gas in the area.
‘We are working to sort it out as quickly as possible.’
Revellers at the Heaven nightclub described trying to leave ‘as fast as possible’.
The London Fire Brigade attended the scene and told people to ‘avoid the area’ and ‘find alternate travel routes’
The major evacuation was launched after a gas main ruptured in the Strand and Charing Cross station (pictured) is closed
Network Rail also confirmed that Charing Cross station was closed because of a ‘gas leak’ in a nearby road
One wrote on Twitter: ‘Evacuated from heaven because of a gas leak wow. Literally chaos. Crush on the stairs. Security being knocked aside.’
Another, Chloe-Mai, said: ‘Lots of people trying to leave at the same time. as soon as the word evacuation was heard from security staff everyone was trying to get out as fast as possible.’
It is the second time in recent weeks that hundreds of people have been evacuated in London due to a gas leak following an incident on Horseferry Road in Westminster on January 9.
On Tuesday, Cadent Gas said engineers were on site on Craven Street behind Charing Cross station to try to locate the gas escape.
A Network Rail spokeswoman said: ‘Charing Cross station is currently closed owing to a gas leak in a nearby road.
‘We will reopen the station as soon as we have clearance from emergency services that it is safe to do so. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused.’
The Metropolitan Police tweeted: ‘Due to gas leak in the #Strand, WC2 businesses and hotels are being evacuated as a precaution.
‘Officers are working with the @nationalgriduk and partner agencies.
‘A cordon and road closures are in place as a precaution and members of the public/motorists are advised to avoid the area at this time.’