Fire breaks out at substation; Heathrow closed for 24 hours, London in dire straits

LONDON: Authorities announced the temporary closure of Heathrow Airport in Britain after a fire broke out at an electrical substation near the airport. Several flights have been cancelled due to this. The airport will likely be closed for at least 24 hours due to security measures. The fire broke out at the substation at around 11:30 last night. The airport was closed at around 2 am this morning.

The notice requested passengers to not show up at the airport until further notice and the officials even apologized for the inconvenience. Authorities have not provided further details on when operations will resume.

According to flight tracking website Flight Radar, 120 flights have been diverted. Heathrow is one of the largest airports in the world with massive passenger inflow from across the globe. Two and a half lakh people arrive here every day. International flights operate from here to 180 destinations around the world. It is reported that 1400 services operate at Heathrow every day.

The fire at the electrical substation, located three kilometres from the airport, has left thousands of homes in West London without power. Ten fire engines have been deployed to the area.