Panicked passengers on a London Tube were forced to smash their way out of a carriage on Friday evening after it filled with smoke.
Video of the incident at Clapham Common underground station at around 5.45pm shows commuters – many of whom would’ve been travelling home from work during rush hour – bashing at the windows from inside.
As the panel gives people can be seen clambering out of the window to safety. As the chaos unfolds, another group can be seen helping a man out through an adjacent window.
Passengers on the platform can also be seen smashing at the exterior of the carriage to help people escape, with a few tugging at the train doors in a bid to prise them open.
One witness took to Twitter to express their disgust at the way Transport For London handled the situation.
“Stuck on the train at Clapham Common and carriages filling with smoke, doors won’t open”, Jake Sharp tweeted, sharing a video of the distressing scene.
Also in the video footage, confused people can be heard shouting. One man appears to shout, “what are you doing?”, though it’s unclear where he stood or who he was talking to.
In the comments of Mr Sharp’s tweet, one user described the event as a “scary situation”, adding that TfL “need to work on their communication”.
“Incredibly responsive from members of [the] public getting the people out of the train to safety … thank you to all who helped”, another wrote.
Transport for London has confirmed that firefighters attended the scene, but said no fire was identified. It is now investigating the cause of the smoke.
“We’re sorry for the distress caused at Clapham Common. The London Fire Brigade attended the station and confirmed there was no fire. We are investigating the details of this incident”, a TfL spokesperson told The Independent.
