Chaos on London tube as passengers smash windows to escape smoking carriage
London Underground commuters had to smash through windows to escape a carriage after it ‘began to fill with smoke’.
Chaos seized Clapham Common this evening as footage posted to Twitter showed people being evacuated from the south London Tube station.
Witnesses described how they began to notice a ‘strong smell of smoke and burning’ before the carriage doors ‘sealed’ shut with the passengers inside.
Footage showed dozens of riders scrambling and crying inside the Northern Line train, while others tried to shatter the carriage windows.
One man standing on the platform could be seen desperately tearing apart the train doors to let commuters off.
A commuter tweeted: ‘Stuck on the train at Clapham Common and carriages filling with smoke, doors won’t open if it wasn’t for workmen on the platform we wouldn’t have got out!’
Another added: ‘Strong smell of smoke and burning on the Northern Line, passenger alarm gets pulled and train stops at Clapham Common but doors won’t open despite repeated shouting and banging to attract attention.
‘Passengers panicking. Finally, lights go out and one door opens.
‘Get out and multiple carriages have smashed windows and doors to get out/air. Not sure what happened but I’m not filled with confidence if there had been an immediate risk.’
Video showed a sign on the station platform reading, ‘Please leave the station immediately,’ while other users said they were barred from entering the station.
A Twitter account called Tweet the Tube, which says it provides live updates for the network, said there had been a ‘fire alert’.
‘
Northern Line: No service between Morden and Clapham Common while we respond to a fire alert at Morden. SEVERE DELAYS on the rest of the line. Tickets are being accepted on London Trams, Southeastern, Thameslink and Buses via any reasonable route,’ it said.
‘So tonight in London – my tube on the northern line caught fire – I managed to get to Stockwell from Clapham Common and got to Victoria – got to Victoria and the eastbound Circle/District is broken down,’ tweeted rider Luke Irving.
‘I hate trains, and I did not make dinner at six.’
TfL has been approached for comment.
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