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| Lorry fire closes Piccadilly Circus in London | Lorry fire closes Piccadilly Circus in London |
| (36 minutes later) | |
| Piccadilly Circus was closed late on Wednesday after an incident which police said involved a lorry catching fire. | Piccadilly Circus was closed late on Wednesday after an incident which police said involved a lorry catching fire. |
| Members of the public reported hearing at least one explosion as well as flames in the area shortly before 11pm, as well as seeing people in shock following the incident. | Members of the public reported hearing at least one explosion as well as flames in the area shortly before 11pm, as well as seeing people in shock following the incident. |
| The London fire brigade said: "The incident was due to some sort of electrical fault. Crews were called to the scene after smoke was spotted coming from underneath the manhole which caused a van to catch fire." The fire was quickly extinguished by the initial unit who called for three other vehicles. | |
| A spokesman for the Metropolitan police said that there was no suggestion initially of an explosion but that a lorry was on fire and that flames were "quite large". He added that no arrests had been made. | A spokesman for the Metropolitan police said that there was no suggestion initially of an explosion but that a lorry was on fire and that flames were "quite large". He added that no arrests had been made. |
| Members of the public in the area tweeted that they had saw others in shock and in one case that the police had "jumped" on a man after what they said had been an explosion. | Members of the public in the area tweeted that they had saw others in shock and in one case that the police had "jumped" on a man after what they said had been an explosion. |
| A witness, John Loughrey, 58, said he heard a loud bang which caused panic on the street and the lights to go out. | |
| "My first instinct was a terror attack," he said adding that a man had started running towards the fire and had been jumped on by police. | |
| Jon Hornbuckle, who said that he was in the area at the time, said that he had heard a number of loud explosions and located the incident close to the upmarket shop, Fortnum & Mason. | |
| Fuck... That was scary, I was 10 steps away and then BANG. Police have jumped on a man.. Loads of fire pic.twitter.com/EWyxiiLAl5 | Fuck... That was scary, I was 10 steps away and then BANG. Police have jumped on a man.. Loads of fire pic.twitter.com/EWyxiiLAl5 |
| He tweeted a picture of what he said was the aftermath, adding: "Fuck ... That was scary, I was 10 steps away and then BANG. Police have jumped on a man ... Loads of fire. | He tweeted a picture of what he said was the aftermath, adding: "Fuck ... That was scary, I was 10 steps away and then BANG. Police have jumped on a man ... Loads of fire. |
| "It's a gas explosion from beneath the streets of Picadilly … Vans have caught on fire but flames won't go out as gas pipes are open." | "It's a gas explosion from beneath the streets of Picadilly … Vans have caught on fire but flames won't go out as gas pipes are open." |
| He later added: "There's constant explosions every 3-4 seconds ... Low flames but huge thick black smoke." | He later added: "There's constant explosions every 3-4 seconds ... Low flames but huge thick black smoke." |