Top Stories

Heathrow substation fire not suspicious, police say

Anna Lamche
BBC News
Andrew Holt/Getty Images An aerial view of planes waiting on the tarmac at HeathrowAndrew Holt/Getty Images

There is no evidence to suggest the substation fire that shut down Heathrow airport was suspicious, police say.

The fire, which broke out in Hayes on Friday, resulted in the closure of Britain's busiest airport for a day.

Counter-terrorism officers were briefly drafted in to investigate. However, the Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday that the incident was no longer being treated as a "potentially criminal matter".

Officers continue to support the London Fire Brigade, the National Grid and "other partners" to investigate the cause of the blaze.

Police say they will consider "any relevant new information or evidence" should any come to light.

While investigations into the cause of the blaze are ongoing, it has been reported the fire started in a transformer within the substation in Hayes around midnight.

The blaze caused a temporary power outage at the airport that led to thousands of cancelled flights on Friday and stranded passengers across the world.

Nearly 1,400 flights were disrupted by the airport's closure, according to air traffic website flightradar24.com. Around 120 flights were diverted elsewhere.

The incident also disrupted the supply of millions of pounds of goods that go through the airport.

More than 63,000 homes lost power in the outage caused by the fire, according to energy supplier Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.

Operations at the airport were halted for 18 hours on Friday, with bosses saying it was "open and fully operational" by Saturday morning.

However, the chaos has raised concerns about the resilience of the major transport hub - and brought into question the UK's energy resilience more broadly.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has called for lessons to be learned from the incident.

Substations, operated by the National Grid, are designed to produce, convert, and distribute electricity at suitable voltage levels.

Heathrow uses three electricity substations.

The airport also has emergency back-up power supplies of its own, which use diesel generators and batteries. These supplies only keep crucial safety systems running, such as landing equipment and runway lights.

Heathrow's chief executive has said the shutdown was caused not by a lack of power, but by the time it took to switch from the damaged substation to the energy provided by the two other operational substations.

Airport bosses have been criticised for their decision to shut Heathrow down following the claim that it had enough power despite the substation fire.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC he was "deeply concerned" by the closure of the airport, adding "there are questions" for managers to answer.

The airport has said "lessons can and will be learned".


Source link

Leave A Comment


Last Visited Articles


Info Board

Visitor Counter
0
 

Todays visit

42 Articles 8507 RSS ARTS 107 Photos

Popular News

🚀 Welcome to our website! Stay updated with the latest news. 🎉

United States

18.117.11.129 :: Total visit:


Welcome 38.337.33.339 Click here to Register or login
Oslo time:2025-05-05 Whos is online (last 10 min): 
1 - Singapore - 664.669.660.647
2 - United States - 28.227.22.229
3 - United States - 48.409.437.434
4 - United States - 554.73.55.20
5 - United States - 52.5.53.543
6 - Singapore - 47.228.34.263
7 - United States - 33.203.73.396
8 - United States - 3.933.947.999
9 - Singapore - 47.666.660.664
10 - United States - 98.222.978.79
11 - Singapore - 47.727.57.77
12 - United States - 66.246.64.628
13 - Singapore - 884.889.836.88
14 - Singapore - 47.020.007.036
15 - United States - 3.939.999.29
16 - United States - 2a03:2880:27ff:7::
17 - Singapore - 47.028.55.200
18 - United States - 2300:3300:0:4303::403
19 - United States - 18.219.61.132
20 - Singapore - 37.328.30.23
21 - Singapore - 994.999.939.208
22 - Singapore - 47.323.326.23
23 - United States - 2a03:2880:27ff:0::
24 - United States - 66.266.54.676
25 - Singapore - 47.121.51.112
26 - Singapore - 47.928.27.249
27 - United States - 244.244.44.237
28 - Singapore - 47.828.84.833
29 - Singapore - 774.779.737.778
30 - United States - 66.949.70.33
31 - Singapore - 47.626.69.696
32 - United States - 66.249.50.32
33 - Singapore - 88.828.55.890
34 - France - 52.36.228.237
35 - Singapore - 42.228.42.298
36 - United States - 2a23:2882:f822:f::
37 - United States - 207.26.23.52
38 - Singapore - 48.828.33.288
39 - United States - 66.549.70.55
40 - United States - 3.547.55.59
41 - Singapore - 99.928.923.229
42 - Singapore - 47.928.49.32
43 - Singapore - 47.828.60.863
44 - Singapore - 444.444.438.35
45 - United States - 3.47.483.438
46 - Singapore - 47.888.57.803
47 - United States - 2a03:2880:f800::
48 - United States - 23.22.220.48
49 - Singapore - 47.928.57.980
50 - United States - 33.397.302.73
51 - United States - 34.777.252.22
52 - United States - 98.83.177.41
53 - United States - 52.3.502.55
54 - United States - 43.44.474.440
55 - Singapore - 47.525.97.20
56 - United States - 04.007.32.023
57 - Singapore - 994.999.999.965
58 - United States - 3.990.993.69
59 - United States - 787.72.87.757
60 - Singapore - 97.928.99.972
61 - United States - 54.84.444.49
62 - United States - 23.23.232.232
63 - United States - 44.205.520.22
64 - United States - 34.696.665.639
65 - Singapore - 47.323.33.223
66 - United States - 34.003.000.05
67 - United States - 54.93.322.393
68 - Singapore - 42.228.22.235
69 - United States - 3.05.080.05
70 - United States - 52.71.211.191
71 - United States - 54.222.203.24
72 - Singapore - 47.228.227.275
73 - United States - 52.367.333.235


Farsi English Norsk RSS