British counter-terrorism police investigate fire that closed Heathrow airport

Smoke rises from the area where the electricity substation is located in Hayes, London on March 20.

A fire at a transformer station near Heathrow Airport forced the international airport to temporarily close on March 21 due to a power outage.

Earlier, fire brigades had responded to the scene of the fire shortly after 6:20 a.m. on March 21 (Vietnam time). About 70 firefighters participated in the firefighting and successfully controlled the scene by 3:00 p.m. the same day.

A resident living near the substation said he heard a loud bang during the night and the power went out just before midnight. About 150 people were evacuated from homes near the scene of the fire.

The fire left 100,000 households without power overnight. As of the morning of March 21, about 4,000 households were still without electricity.

The Metropolitan Police said counter-terrorism forces were leading the investigation due to the impact on Britain's critical national infrastructure.

"While there is no indication of any malicious activity, we remain open-minded at this time," a Metropolitan Police spokesman added, Reuters reported.

It is advised not to travel to Heathrow Airport as it is temporarily closed due to a power outage.

Heathrow Airport connects international flights to about 80 countries and territories around the world , and about 1,350 flights are scheduled to take off or land at the airport with 5 terminals in the British capital London on March 21, according to AFP citing the website Flightradar24 .

About 230,000 passengers a day and 83 million passengers a year use Heathrow Airport, making it one of the busiest airports in the world.

Around 120 planes were en route to Heathrow when the closure was announced, according to Flightradar24 .

British aviation officials expect flight disruption to continue in the coming days.

Gatwick, Britain's second-busiest airport, has announced it will accept some flights from Heathrow. Others are being diverted to European airports, including Shannon in Ireland, Frankfurt (Germany) and Paris Charles de Gaulle (France).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/canh-sat-chong-khung-bo-anh-dieu-tra-vu-chay-khien-san-bay-heathrow-dong-cua-185250321203505347.htm