West End shut
A cordon is in place after reports of a gas leak near Charing Cross station London Fire Brigade

London's Charing Cross station was closed on Tuesday morning (23 January), as a major gas leak in the West End caused travel chaos.

The leak was discovered shortly after 2am GMT in Craven Street, just off the Strand, according to the London Fire Brigade.

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The discovery saw approximately 1,450 people being evacuated from the nearby Heaven nightclub and a hotel.

The revellers spoke of "chaos" after being ordered to leave by the club's doormen, after the alarm was raised. Hotel guests were moved into emergency accommodation.

"Evacuated from heaven because of a gas leak wow. Literally chaos. Crush on the stairs. Security being knocked aside," one wrote on Twitter.

Another said: "Lots of people trying to leave at the same time. As soon as the word evacuation was heard from security staff everyone was trying to get out as fast as possible."

"We are assisting police on the Strand after a ruptured gas main was discovered using detection equipment and high levels of natural gas were detected in the atmosphere," said a spokesman for the fire brigade.

"As a precaution, approximately 1,450 people have been evacuated. They are from a hotel and a night club.

"It is ongoing and engineers are down at the scene trying to isolate the leak. There are still high readings of natural gas in the area. We are working to sort it out as quickly as possible."

Meanwhile, rail services into Waterloo East and Charing Cross were suspended, although Network Rail said normal service will be restored as soon as clearance is received from emergency services.

Westminster Council said a rest centre has been set up for affected residents at the Queen Mother's Sport Centre in Vauxhall Bridge Road.