A mass evacuation has taken place at the Grand Plaza Hotel complex in Central London.
Staff and guests at the 76 Bedroom Hotel were ordered to leave in the early hours on Sunday morning after a strong smell of gas was traced to the boiler room within the hotel.
Fire crews from the London Fire Brigade were called and scrambled to the hotel on Lexham Garden just before 3am after gas alarms sounded. Fire crews used GDU carried out a search and detected a large amount of poison gas leaking from within the boiler room. An order was made that all persons should be evacuated from the complex and to move away from the area due to the large gas cloud build-up within the boiler room. Firefighters in gas-tight suits could be seen entering the boiler room in attempts to make the area safe.
Specialist Detection, identification and monitoring units have also been called in to assist fire crew commanders on the ground.
The Grand Plaza and the London Fire Brigade have been approached for comment.
A road closure has been put in place and drivers are being asked to seek an alternative route.
More to follow
