1,450 people evacuated from Heaven nightclub and nearby hotels
Strand currently closed entirely to traffic and a cordon is in place
Charing Cross station closed – commuters advised to find alternative routes
Approximately 1,450 people have been evacuated from a nightclub and a hotel and a major railway station is closed after a gas main ruptured in the Strand, central London.

Witnesses described “chaos” as doormen at the Heaven nightclub ordered them to leave after the alarm was raised at around 2am, while guests at the hotel were moved into emergency accommodation.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) said it was called to the scene at after high levels of natural gas were detected at the scene in Craven Street near Charing Cross station, reports the Press Association.

The Strand, a major route through central London, has been closed entirely and a 150m cordon put in place while National Grid engineers try to isolate the leak.

Cordons are in place and roads closed after a gas main ruptured in the Strand in Central London. pic.twitter.com/1ej4XFVlsy
Charing Cross station is currently closed and commuters are advised to find alternative routes.
UPDATE: Major disruption caused by an earlier gas leak and exclusion zone around Charing Cross station. This is causing delays and cancellations to trains into and out of London Charing Cross this morning with trains diverted to alternative terminals. pic.twitter.com/EDrbMAsNH1

January 23, 2018
An LFB spokesman said: “We are assisting police on the Strand after a ruptured gas main was discovered using detection equipment and high levels of natural gas were detected in the atmosphere.

“As a precaution, approximately 1,450 people have been evacuated. They are from a hotel and a night club.

“The Strand is completely closed and we are asking people to avoid the area.

“We do not know the cause of the gas leak at this stage. It is ongoing and engineers are down at the scene trying to isolate the leak. There are still high readings of natural gas in the area.

“We are working to sort it out as quickly as possible.”

Revellers at the Heaven nightclub described trying to leave “as fast as possible”

Due to gas leak in the #Strand, WC2 businesses and hotels are being evacuated as a precaution.
Another, Chloe-Mai, said: “Lots of people trying to leave at the same time. as soon as the word evacuation was heard from security staff everyone was trying to get out as fast as possible.”

A Network Rail spokeswoman said: “Charing Cross station is currently closed owing to a gas leak in a nearby road.

“We will reopen the station as soon as we have clearance from emergency services that it is safe to do so. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused.”