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Firefighters are tackling a large flood near King’s Cross station after a water main burst during the early hours of Sunday morning, which has caused a hotel to be evacuated,
London Fire Brigade (LFB) said eight fire stations and about 60 firefighters were responding to the incident, which was affecting an area of around 250 square metres, on Pentonville Road.
Traffic in the local area is expected to be severely impacted, while people have been asked to stay away as firefighters respond. Pentonville Road is closed to traffic between Penton Rise and King’s Cross Road.
About 20 people at a nearby hotel were evacuated by crews, while the basements of “multiple” homes and commercial properties had been affected, LFB said.
Transport for London said 11 bus routes were on diversion on Sunday morning. They are bus routes 17, 30, 46, 63, 73, 91, 205, 214, 259, 390 and 476.
Mobile flood barriers and specialist water rescue crews have been mobilised to the scene, while a drone is also being used to survey the area and the damaged caused.
Thames Water apologised for the incident, and added that their engineers were onsite.
“Our engineers have identified the burst, closed the main flow of water from the broken pipe and have had to temporarily close a section of the road so they can work safely, and the excess water can drain away,” it said in a statement.
Speaking to the BBC, Tina Hodgkinson, who lives off Pentonville Road, said she was woken up at about 4am by what she thought was heavy rain.
“I looked out the window and it wasn’t raining, but I could see there was this stream of water going down Pentonville Road,” she said.
The LFB said that crews from Euston, Islington, Soho and surrounding fire stations are at the scene, with the Metropolitan Police also providing assistance.
