A huge fire has broken out in Hackney Wick eastern London, England, on part of the 2012 Olympic Games site scheduled to be the location of the handball courts.
According to BBC News 24 flames are visible from Canary Wharf and the smoke is clearly visible across the City of London. The fire at a disused single-storey warehouse in Waterden Road, Stratford is said to have been reported around 12:05pm. Live video broadcast on American television network ABC shows a plume of thick black smoke drifting across the city. The Associated Press reports say that a "large explosion" preceded the fire, eyewitnesses do not confirm this, though there is flammable material on the site. David Jones of East London Bus company states that the fire started as a disused warehouse adjacent to their Waterden Road depot.
BBC News reports that eight fire appliances and 40 firefighters are tackling the blaze. MSNBC reports that six fire engines had been called to the scene. Strong winds are driving the smoke over London, and the BBC report that the smoke is now visible from Rochester, Kent.
By 13:15 GMT the London Fire Brigade reported that there were 15 appliances and around 75 firefighters, and the fire was not yet under control. The original call was at 12:06 GMT.
Although the image evokes memories of the subway attacks of 2005, police say they have no evidence of a terrorist attack at this time.
On BBC News 24 Charles Buchanan of London City Airport states that the airport is still operational but has closed one runway whose flight path crosses the smoke plume, but services are unaffected. A short stretch of railway close to Hackney Wick has been temporarily closed, though it is not damaged.
London Ambulance Service confirms that there are no known casualties and their emergency response team has been stood down, though thier hazardous area team remains on site. Police are holding back large crowds of bystanders. - Wikinews
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