Heathrow Airport has bit hit by an outbreak of fire after a vehicle burst into flames and tore through the Terminal 3 car park.
Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters arrived on scene this morning to tackle the blaze as it wrecked the multi-storey facility.
Striking footage shows plumes of smoke billow out of the car park and bright orange flames burn through the building.
A witness can be heard saying ‘oh my god’ as he observes the flames from inside the car park, adding ‘his car is on fire’.
Officers say they took the first of eight calls to the fire at 9.04am this morning and sent crews from Heathrow, Hayes and Feltham fire stations to the scene.
The cause of the inferno remains unknown but initial reports suggested the car is an electrical vehicle.
A section of the M4 southbound from the airport has been closed due to the blaze, with those travelling advised to use the M4 J3 or the M25 J14 and drivers told to expect long crews.
The fire has also caused a number of disruptions to road routes as those getting to Heathrow by bus were forced to terminate.
Striking footage show plumes of smoke billow out of the car park and bright orange flames burn through the building
The multi-storey car park was ablaze with cars slowing down to view the spectacle from the road below
Oficers say the took the first of eight calls to the fire at 9.04am this morning and sent crews from Heathrow, Hayes and Feltham fire stations to the scene (file image)
The fire has also caused a number of disruptions to road routes as those travelling to Heathrow by bus were forced to terminate
Transport company Arriva Herts & Essex said in a statement on X: ‘Good morning, due to a fire in Heathrow, the 724 service will be unable to serve the Greenways stop or Lees Road stop in both directions, the buses will be terminating and starting from terminal 5.’
Further disruption has been caused into the tunnel heading to Terminals 2 and 3.
A Heathrow spokesman said: ‘Earlier this morning our teams responded to a small vehicle fire in the Multi Storey Car Park for Terminal 3.
‘The fire was quickly extinguished. The car park is temporarily closed which may cause some congestion on surrounding roads.
‘This is an isolated incident and all other car parks at Heathrow are operating as normal. We apologise to passengers for any inconvenience.’
This is a breaking news story. More to come
