London's Luton Airport has suspended all flights until mid-afternoon on Wednesday due to a major fire that caused the partial collapse of one of its car parks, injuring several people, Belga News Agency reports.
"The safety of our passengers and staff remains our top priority. We have therefore taken the decision to suspend all flights until 15:00 on Wednesday 11 October" (16:00 Belgian time), the airport said on its website.
Luton Airport, which is located some 40 km north of central London and is served by several low-cost airlines such as easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air, advised passengers against travelling to the airport "as access remains very limited".
The fire broke out at around 21:00 local time in a recently-built multi-storey car park on Tuesday evening when a car suddenly burst into flames. Images broadcast on British media showed the building on fire near a terminal, while witnesses on social networks reported explosions.
41-year-old Russell Taylor, who was able to land from Edinburgh in Scotland, told the British Press Association that the fire spread at an "incredible" speed. "A few minutes [after the car caught on fire] the whole floor was on fire with alarms going off and loud explosions coming from the burning cars."
Major emergency response
At its peak, 15 fire engines, three specialist aerial appliances and more than 100 firefighters came to the scene, Sky News reports. The car park partially collapsed and there were around 1,500 vehicles inside at the time, most of which are believed to be damaged.
The local ambulance service reported on social media that five people (four firefighters and an airport employee) had been admitted to hospital. Another injured person was treated on site, but no serious injuries have been reported.
The fire brigade explained that it was working on the site to extinguish the fire and prevent it spreading to other buildings.
"The structure of the building suffered a major collapse," Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said on X (formerly Twitter). The rescue service announced just after 11:00 that they had "scaled back" as it was no longer a major incident, but that an investigation would be conducted into the cause of the fire.
Efforts are still ongoing to extinguish a serious fire at Luton Airport. We are continuing to protect surrounding airport infrastructure, vehicles and the Luton DART. For anyone whose travel plans may be affected, please refer to the advice being provided by London Luton Airport. pic.twitter.com/tNFo4hvRdX
— Beds Fire and Rescue (@BedsFire) October 11, 2023
