A LONDON Underground station has been partially shut with thousands nearby evacuated as a fire burns in the city.
Emergency services raced to Moorgate around 11.30am after getting more than 40 frantic calls that a blaze had broken out.
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Smoke is filling the London skies after a fire broke out this morningCredit: @CharterhouseSq
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Smoke and flames could be seen leaping from the roof of a building in Moorgate
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Thousands were said to have been evacuated as a result of the blazeCredit: @CharterhouseSq
Around 40 firefighters were battling to get the fire under control more than an hour after getting the first call.
Moorgate Underground station was partially shut, but is still operating, and thousands of people were seen being evacuated from nearby buildings.
Videos snapped from high-rise buildings above showed smoke pouring from the roof of the building, with flames leaping out, too.
Brits raced to Twitter to share what they were seeing, as photos showed smoke billowing into the sky.
Swarms for firetrucks could be seen within cordons as crews worked to extinguish the blaze.
Around 1,200 people have been evacuated from the area, and no injuries have been reported.
The cause of the blaze, which broke out on the 10th floor of a building, is currently unknown.
The fire took hold of a plant room in a disused office block.
One woman who lives nearby said she couldn’t go out onto her balcony because the smoke was so thick.
Sarah Gaventa, who lives in the Barbican, told MyLondon: “I noticed the smoke on the other side of the flat facing the Barbican lake – as it suddenly looked like there was a thick fog where it had drifted over.
“[I] Could not go out on balcony as thick black smoke.”
London Fire Brigade said: “Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters responded to a fire on Moorfields in Moorgate.
“A large amount of smoke was being produced by the fire, which occurred in a disused office block.
“The plant room on the tenth floor, in a building of eleven floors, was destroyed by fire.
“Around 1200 people were evacuated from surrounding buildings in the area as a precaution. There are no reports of any injuries.
“Control Officers have taken over 40 calls reporting the incident.
“The Brigade was first called at 1122, and the fire was under control by 1248. Crews from Whitechapel, Euston, poplar and surrounding fire stations attended the scene.”
“The cause of the fire is not yet known.”
TFL said just one entrance was closed to the public, and the station was still operating as usual.
City of London Police said at 1.30pm that just one road still remained closed – Moorfields.
It asked pedestrians to avoid the area.
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Firefighters received more than 40 frantic calls about the blaze
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Fire crews could be seen scrambling on the groundCredit: London Fire Brigade
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