Explosion at five-star central London hotel sees 500 evacuated

Around 500 guests were evacuated from the Churchill Hyatt Regency Hotel late on Friday night following a reported gas explosion, which injured 14 people.

The explosion happened shortly before midnight at the five-star hotel in Portman Square, just minutes from Oxford Street and Hyde Park.

Guests reported feeling the floor shaking as they heard a loud explosion, then all the lights and electricity cut out.

They then had to wait outside for around an hour and a half.

Five people needed hospital treatment, and others were treated on location, the Evening Standard reports.

BBC London 94.9 broadcaster Richard Main tweeted this image from the scene:

The scene outside the Hyatt Regency on Portman Square after a suspected gas explosion shortly before midnight pic.twitter.com/YkglTMCD49

— Richard Main (@RPMain) November 22, 2014

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the explosion, and National Grid is at the scene today to try to determine what went wrong.

The Standard reports that Jeanette Unsworth, National Grid spokeswoman, said at the weekend: “We’re still investigating. We obviously had to spend a little time last night making sure the situation was safe.

“We were waiting for the emergency services to do their work of getting the injured people out, and we’ll be on scene today investigating to establish the exact cause.”

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