News | Transport

Oxford Circus fire alert: Commuters 'drop to floor' amid panic as smoke fills Tube carriages

Alert: Passengers cover their faces as a Bakerloo line carriage fills with smoke
Joe Bunting
Sebastian Mann
11 August 2017

Two people have been taken to hospital after panicked commuters were forced to flee Oxford Circus station as fire broke out on board a train.

Smoke filled carriages of a moving Bakerloo line service after an electrical fault sparked a small fire and caused an evacuation.

Passengers told of commuters dropping to the floor coughing amid the rush hour drama shortly before 9am. Paramedics treated four people for smoke inhalation and took two to hospital for precautionary reasons.

Firefighters and Transport for London are investigating the cause of the smoke, which began inside a Tube carriage and spilled out when it pulled into Oxford Circus station.

Commuter Joe Bunting, 25, told the Standard passengers initially noticed the smell of burning rubber before smoke filled the carriage.

"People were starting to panic, dropping to the floor, coughing and looking for an alarm to pull," he said.

“The driver announced we were moving to Oxford Circus where we could disembark.

“As we pulled into Oxford Circus, smoke spilled out of the carriage and onto the platform, and set of fire alarms, the entire station was evacuated. The smoke smell was very rubber-like.”

Mr Bunting, who works in digital marketing, added: "It was pretty intense for a bit. Felt like the longest ride ever from Piccadilly to Oxford Circus."

The station remained closed while the London Fire Brigade and Transport for London officials investigated the incident.

The British Transport Police said the incident was not being treated as suspicious.

The London Fire Brigade tweeted: "We've dealt with a small fire on an @bakerlooline train at #OxfordCircus. Station was evacuated."

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A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We were called at 8.53am today to reports of an incident on board a Bakerloo line train at Oxford Circus tube station.

“We sent an ambulance crew, our Hazardous Area Response Team and an incident response officer to the scene, with the first of our medics arriving in less than five minutes.

“We treated four patients at the scene for smoke inhalation and have taken two to hospital as a precaution.”

Nigel Holness, London Underground’s director of network operations, gave his “sincere apologies” over the “distressing incident”.

He added:“At around 8:50am our staff were alerted to reports of smoke on a Bakerloo train approaching Oxford Circus.

"Our staff immediately contacted the emergency services, who quickly attended, and ensured customers left the train and exited the station. The cause of the smoke was an electrical fault under one of the carriages, which resulted in a small fire that was quickly extinguished.”