London's Heathrow Airport, the largest in Europe, was closed on Friday morning due to a huge fire at an electrical substation, IPN reports.
Flights were suspended. The airport administration announced significant disruptions for the next few days and warned passengers not to travel until it reopens.
In the meantime, the surrounding locals were evacuated. About 5,000 houses remained without electricity.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told BBC Radio 4 that it was an unprecedented event.
Teams with 70 firefighters and 10 special vehicles intervened to extinguish the fire. Victims were not reported.
A 200-meter cordon was installed as a precaution, and locals were advised to keep doors and windows closed, due to the heavy smoke.
Asked on BBC Breakfast how such a busy transport hub was able to be so severely disrupted by a fire at an electrical substation, Ed Miliband replied: "It's too early to answer that question. We don't know the cause of this fire." According to the BBC, Heathrow Airport will be closed throughout Friday.
At least 1,351 flights to and from Heathrow will be affected on Friday, flight tracking website Flightradar24 said on X, with some 120 affected aircraft already in the air when the closure was announced.
Photo source: Reuters
