Luton Airport fire: Massive blaze causes terminal car park to partially collapse
Luton Airport has reopened after it suspended all flights due to a huge fire which caused one of its multi-storey car parks to partially collapse – with four firefighters and one member of airport staff taken to hospital with injuries.
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident at 9.38pm on Tuesday and, at its peak, had 15 fire engines, three specialist aerial appliances and more than 100 firefighters at the scene.
The fire service said one-half of the car park was “fully involved in the fire” and the building has suffered a “significant structural collapse”.
Due to fly from Luton Airport? Here’s how the fire is affecting flights
Pic: @Soriyn23
Andrew Hopkinson, chief fire officer at Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the car park had as many as 1,500 vehicles in it at the time – with up to 1,200 believed to be damaged.
A temporary ramp was installed to enable undamaged vehicles to be removed.
Mr Hopkinson said firefighters faced a “severe and rapidly spreading fire” on arrival, and the blaze “ultimately spread to multiple floors”.
He said there was “no intelligence to suggest it’s anything other than an accidental fire that started in one of the vehicles”.
Mr Hopkinson added that the fire likely started in a diesel car, before spreading to nearby vehicles.
“We don’t believe it was an electric vehicle,” he said.
Flights were suspended until after 3pm on Wednesday, with a spokesperson for the airport confirming around 4pm that arrivals and departures from Luton’s runway had restarted.
The burnt out shells of cars, buried amongst debris of a multi-storey car park at Luton Airport
Read more: Video shows moment huge fireball engulfs car park
“Additional staff remain on hand to assist passengers across the airport,” a spokesperson told Sky News shortly before 4pm.
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CCTV captures car park collapse
The first plane to land at the airport was a Wizz Air flight from Cardiff. A Ryanair flight from Luton to Lanzarote took off shortly before 4pm.
It is thought around 25,000 airline passengers were impacted by cancellations and delays, according to analysis by the Press Association.
Overnight, firefighters were attempting to put out the enormous blaze and prevent it from spreading to adjacent buildings and vehicles on the airport runway.
In an update at 8.45am on Wednesday, the fire service said it had “controlled and extinguished” the blaze, but urged people to avoid the area due to “severe traffic delays”.
Damage to the car park at Luton Airport
“Four crews and an aerial appliance remain at the scene,” the service said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“All flights are suspended until 3pm. If you have a flight leaving before 3pm, please do not travel. Please avoid the area owing to severe traffic delays.”
The fire service stood down its major incident on Wednesday morning.
The East England Ambulance Service said four firefighters and one member of airport staff were taken to Luton and Dunstable Hospital following the fire.
Another patient was discharged at the scene.
In a statement on X, Luton Airport said: “Emergency services remain on the scene following last night’s fire in Terminal Car Park 2.
“Our priority remains supporting the emergency services and the safety of our passengers and staff. Therefore, we have now taken the decision to suspend all flights until 3pm on Wednesday 11th October.
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport at this time, as access remains severely restricted.
“For queries relating to a parked vehicle or future booking please contact luton.customerservices@apcoa.com.
“Passengers should contact their airline for information regarding their flight.”
Flames could be seen tearing through cars parked on an upper floor of Terminal Car Park 2 in videos posted on social media on Tuesday night.
One witness told Sky News: “You could hear cars exploding.”
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‘You could hear cars exploding’
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Another witness said his vehicle was one of those inside the multi-storey car park.
He said he was inside the airport when the fire broke out, but knows his car has been affected as “all Car Park 2 is completely finished”.
Russell Taylor, 41, an account director from Kinross in Scotland, saw the flames after flying in to Luton Airport from Edinburgh.
He said: “There were a couple of fire engines with a car ablaze on the upper floor of the car park at just after 9pm.
“A few minutes later most of the upper floor was alight, car alarms were going off with loud explosions from cars going up in flames.
“The speed in which the fire took hold was incredible.”
Agnieske Szmit, 44, spent the night sleeping on the benches of the terminal building after her and her family’s flight from Luton to Gdansk, in Poland, was cancelled on Tuesday evening due to the fire.
“We missed our work today, the children should be at school,” she said.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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Wrexham AFC have been promoted for the third season in a row.
The North Wales-based side has gone from the National League to the Championship in just three seasons, under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wrexham were second in the table and had a run of eight games unbeaten ahead of their match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which they won 3-0.
Wrexham’s James McClean lifts the League One trophy. Pic: PA
Wrexham’s Dan Scarr celebrates with the fans on the pitch after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
It is the first time any club has been promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football.
The third oldest association football club in the world, Wrexham AFC was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020, and has since been the subject of a Disney+ documentary, Welcome To Wrexham.
Reynolds, wearing a Wrexham sweatshirt, and McElhenney were pictured celebrating each goal, and after the game, as the fans came onto the pitch at the SToK Cae Ras (Racecourse Ground) to celebrate the victory with the players.
Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife Blake Lively, before the match. Pic: PA
Both stars came onto the pitch after the supporters returned to the stands.
Speaking to Sky Sports, McElhenney praised those behind the scenes, referring to “so many that don’t get the credit they deserve, people who aren’t talked about”.
Reynolds said bringing success back to the club “seemed like an impossible dream” when they arrived in North Wales in 2020.
Wrexham’s Sam Smith celebrates in front of the fans after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
He put the three promotions down to “the coaching staff, the greatest dressing room” and an “all for one, one for all” attitude throughout the club, adding he was “speechless with their commitment and their emotion”.
As for the mouth-watering prospect of another promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, the pair agreed it was “for tomorrow”, before ending the interview with a joint mic-drop.
Veteran striker Steven Fletcher said, “as soon as I came to this club, I knew it was something special. We want to go again. We’ll reset in the summer, take a break and go again”.
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