Hundreds evacuated as cars explode in massive London fire

London: Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes in the earlier hours Thursday morning after a fire at building site spread rapidly to neighbouring flats after reports of explosions.

London Fire Brigade said around 180 firefighters were called to tackle the blaze in Peckham, south-east London.

More than 300 people were evacuated from the area and four people have been taken to hospital including one police officer. Several homes and a local pub, the Golden Lion, are reported to have been destroyed in the blaze.

Amateur video footage showed flames several metres above the roofline as nearby residents feared for their safety. Other footage appeared to show an explosion close to where several people had gathered on the street to watch the blaze.

Local MP Harriet Harman, deputy leader of the Labour party, said cars had exploded on the street.

"The whole community is in shock," she told radio station BBC London.

Gas cylinders

One resident spoke of flames shooting six metres high from the three and four-storey blocks as residents, including mothers with babies, sheltered on the street. Another told BBC London they had "lost everything" in the blaze.

By dawn live TV images showed the fire apparently under control but a huge area was still smouldering in thick smoke.

The blaze started at around 4.30am at a building site in Sumner Road and spread rapidly after gas cylinders exploded.

London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Steve Turek said three sites, including two blocks of flats, were burning when firefighters arrived at the scene.

He said: "The ferocity of the fire was a challenge when we first arrived because all the buildings were simultaneously burning.

"Homes were a particular concern to us because residents would have been sleeping at home at that time of the morning."

One eyewitness told BBC London: "There was flying debris all over the place and there were cars ablaze and we were told to get out of the area."

Another resident in the area, Lucy Pope, told Sky News that dozens of people were sheltering away from the properties while firefighters tackled the blaze.

"People are scared, they are standing in bus shelters and there are babies who have been woken up," she said. Evacuated people were moved to emergency accommodation provided by the local authority.