Fire at London’s Knightsbridge; around 120 firefighters pressed into service

NEW DELHI: Around 120 firefighters have been pressed into service to control a fire at the roof of a luxury hotel in London’s Knightsbridge, reported local media.


Fire crew from Chelsea, Kensington, Hammersmith, Battersea and other surrounding fire stations are at the scene. As per the news reports, around 20 fire tenders have been dispatched to the scene of the fire.


A Reuters reporter said smoke was visible coming from the five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel, a luxury area of central London where Harrods department store is located. The fire service said the blaze was "producing a lot of smoke" and was "very visible" and its cause "is not known at this stage".
Police said the hotel was being evacuated and it was not yet known whether there had been any injuries.

Firefighters were called to the fire at 1455 GMT.

"We are aware that there is a fire at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, and that the fire brigade is at the hotel," a hotel spokesman said. "As the situation is still unfolding, we have no further details to share at this time, but will provide an update soon".

Roads were closed off at Scotch Corner and Hyde Park Corner, busy junctions near the hotel -- an Edwardian-style building that opened its doors in 1902 and was bought by Mandarin Oriental in 1996.

Transport for London, which manages the city's public transport system, said an entrance to Knightsbridge Underground station had been closed "at the request of the emergency services".

Anna Whiteley, a TV presenter, tweeted that she was evacuated from the hotel. "Just evacuated Mandarin Oriental hotel to see this... absolutely crazy! So impressed by the organisation in bringing everyone to safety," she wrote on Twitter.

The London Ambulance Service said had sent "a number of resources" to the scene of the incident.

The hotel has 198 rooms and suites.