King’s Cross St Pancras closed after ‘flare' sparks mass passenger evacuation

27 April 2024, 17:10 | Updated: 27 April 2024, 17:35

King’s Cross St Pancras closed after ‘flare' sparks mass passenger evacuation
King’s Cross St Pancras closed after ‘flare' sparks mass passenger evacuation. Picture: Alamy

By Danielle De Wolfe

King’s Cross St Pancras station has been closed after a ‘flare set off in underground’ sparked a mass evacuation of passengers.

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The international transport hub was brought to a standstill on Saturday afternoon, with passengers claiming they were left ‘feeling dizzy from fumes’ following the flare's ignition.

Passengers were evacuated from platforms and ticket halls at the train station by firefighters shortly before 4pm.

Fire engines could be been outside of the station, according to The Sun, with 'a strong smell of gas and smoke' hanging in the air according to witnesses.

Footage appears to show passengers running through the station in a bid to evacuate after they smelt smoke.

A TFL spokesperson said: 'King's Cross St. Pancras station is closed while we respond to a fire alert.'

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A police officer at the scene told The Sun: “Someone has set off a flare in the underground and we’ve had to shut down the area.

"Firefighters are down there now.

"We don’t know when we’ll open the underground again."

A speaker in the station could be heard announcing: 'Your attention please. Due to a reported emergency will all passengers leave the station immediately'.

Following the incident, Transport for London's official social media account @TfLAccess posted on Twitter/X: 'King's Cross St. Pancras station is closed while we respond to a fire alert'.

TFL has been contacted for comment

This is a developing news story.