An alarm sounded throughout King's Cross as commuters were evacuated when huge numbers attempted to travel through the station - one person tweeted it was a 'nightmare' as pictures of people gathering outside the station emerged
LONDON was crippled by travel chaos this morning after Charing Cross station closed amid a gas leak.
Commuters poured instead into other main stations, with the vast numbers causing King's Cross to be evacuated.
The mayhem began in the early hours of this morning when almost 1,500 people were told to leave the capital's world-famous Heaven nightclub.
Toxic fumes started pouring out at The Strand as firefighters were scrambled to the area.
An alarm sounded throughout King's Cross as commuters were evacuated when huge numbers attempted to travel through the station - one person tweeted it was a "nightmare" as pictures of people gathering outside the station emerged.
Charing Cross, used by thousands every day, and Waterloo East stations were both closed bringing rush hour chaos to London commuters this morning.
Travellers were warned the station is likely to be closed for several hours with a normal service not expected to return until this afternoon.
Office workers were evacuated from the Strand area as work continued on the gas leak, adding to the crowds of people milling about the central London area.
Liverpool Street station was also hit by large number of people trying to find alternative routes to work.
Transport for London confirmed at midday Charing Cross was still closed and the cordon in place, but by 1pm the cordon had lifted.
Network Rail said this morning: "We will reopen these stations as soon as we have clearance from emergency services that it is safe to do so. We are sorry for the inconvenience."
The fire service said high levels of natural gas had been found in the atmosphere and a 100m cordon has been put in place.
A nearby hotel was also closed as emergency services rushed to the scene. Revellers described "chaos" as they were forced to leave the venue shortly after 2am.
London Fire Brigade station manager Brett Loft said: “This is a large gas leak in the street and as a precaution we’ve evacuated people and Charing Cross Station is closed.
"Commuters are advised to find alternative route and The Strand is closed.
"Gas engineers are working on isolating the leak and we'd asked people to avoid the area if possible."
A Network Rail spokesperson said this morning: "Charing Cross station is currently closed owing to a gas leak in a nearby road.
"We will reopen the station as soon as we have clearance from emergency services that it is safe to do so. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused."
A Met Police spokeswoman confirmed officers are assisting at the scene and have evacuated a 100m area around the ruptured main.
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