King’s Cross hotel evacuated after water main bursts

A hotel has been evacuated after a burst water main caused flooding near King’s Cross Station in the early hours of Sunday.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) said eight fire stations and about 60 firefighters were responding to the incident on Pentonville Road, which was affecting an area of around 250 square metres.

About 20 people at nearby King’s Cross Express Inn were evacuated by crews due to flooding, while the basements of “multiple” homes and commercial properties had been affected, LFB said.

The brigade was called at 04:07 BST, and said on Sunday afternoon that floodwater was “receding” near King’s Cross but traffic would continue to be “heavily impacted”.

Sanjay Swaminarayan, the manager of the hotel, said 15 rooms in its basement and on the ground floor had been flooded.

On Sunday afternoon, water was being pumped out of the building on King’s Cross Road.

“The carpet is just floating on the water,” he told the BBC.

He added that while sleep-deprived guests had been “understanding” about the evacuation, the hotel was still trying to book rooms at other hotels for them this evening.

“So we’re not making money but we’re spending more money as well,” he said.

LFB deployed mobile flood barriers and specialist water rescue crews to the scene.

Pentonville Road is closed to traffic at the junction of King’s Cross Road.

Islington Council has urged people to avoid the area while crews respond, while stores have been advised to close temporarily by emergency services.

Sainsbury’s said its branch on the road experienced some flooding, while Honest Burgers said it had closed its Pentonville Road restaurant on Sunday “due to flooding”.

Transport for London said 11 bus routes were on diversion on Sunday morning, while three had returned to normal service by Sunday afternoon.

Bus routes 17, 30, 46, 63, 73, 205, 214 and 476 are still affected, while night services N63, N73 and N205 will be altered on Sunday evening.

Thames Water said on Sunday afternoon that its engineers had closed the main flow of water from the broken pipe, while excess water had been drained away.

“Our engineers will work through the night to repair the broken pipe caused by the burst,” it said.

It added that a clean up operation was ongoing, while support teams were helping affected customers.

In February, the water firm announced a £20m project to update Victorian pipes in the area over the next three years.

LFB said firefighters were using a drone to survey the area affected by floodwaters, and traffic in the local area would be “heavily impacted”.

Crews from Euston, Islington, Soho and surrounding fire stations were at the scene on Sunday.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were assisting fire crews, while the council said members of its emergency response team were also on site.