Firefighters are battling an enormous blaze at the historic Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge
Fire breaks out at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in London.
120 firefighters are battling an enormous fire at the historic Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge, London. The fire broke out just over an hour ago and thick black smoke can be seen from miles away at the luxury hotel which has 28 fire engines in attendance.
Hotel staff and guests have been evacuated to safety to nearby Hyde Park with a cordon surrounding the hotels exterior. Nearby hotels are offering their support to both guests and staff, and have been delivering bottles of water to those affected in Hyde Park.
The Mandarin has just completed a multi-million-pound makeover which is their most extensive refurbishment which includes guest rooms, public areas and their renowned spa facilities (where a new Chinese Medicine room and a Rasul water temple has been installed) in its 115-year-old history which aims to ‘confirm the hotel’s position as one of the best in the world’.
The London Fire Brigade has said that “The Brigade was called at 15.55. Fire crews from Chelsea, Kensington, Hammersmith, Battersea and other surrounding fire stations are at the scene. The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.”
The iconic hotel which is owned by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is situated in a historic Edwardian-style building. The hotel originally opened its doors to the public as the Hyde Park Hotel in 1902. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group purchased the hotel in 1996 and conducted a complete renovation of the 198 rooms and suites, as well as a re-design of the restaurants and bar. Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London re-opened in May 2000.
The fire in London is the mandarin oriental hotel in Knightsbridge pic.twitter.com/tMrVTOUF3j
— Jack (@jackwmartin_) June 6, 2018
Executive chef at The Fat Duck Group (which includes DINNER BY HESTON) Ashley Palmer-Watts posted an update on Twitter.
Everyone one from our team at DINNER BY HESTON is ok, the Restaurant will be closed this evening and will post an update in due course. Thank you for the messages please RT
— Ashley Palmer-Watts (@APWChef) June 6, 2018
The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has expressed "Its gratitude to the emergency services for their support". The London Fire Brigade have confirmed that the blaze, which began on the roof, spread across "a vertical facade for plants and vegetation and into several floors of the hotel."
They have also confirmed that 36 hotel guests and 250 hotel staff were evacuated from the building and that the London Ambulance Service has reported no injuries. They posted a tweet this morning saying:
Firefighters will remain at the scene of the #Knightsbridge hotel fire throughout today. At the height of yesterday's incident, 20 fire engines and 120 firefighters and officers attended the scene https://t.co/Q8RMsTDSTf pic.twitter.com/eGXmhPsa28
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) June 7, 2018
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined and was extinguished shortly before 22:00 on Wednesday evening.
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