Fire breaks out at Heathrow airport

Servisair cargo warehouse fire leads to a 400-metre exclusion zone being established, but flights not affected

London fire brigade said it has sent around 100 firefighters and 20 fire engines to Heathrow, above. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

About 100 firefighters have been tackling a fire at Heathrow airport, which broke out at lunchtime in a cargo warehouse.

Pictures of the scene show thick black smoke billowing over the airport. A spokesman for Heathrow said no one had been hurt and flights had not been affected.

An emergency call was made at 1.16pm after fire broke out at the Servisair cargo warehouse on Stansted road, on the southern edge of the airport. "There is less smoke than there was but there is still a large amount of smoke," the spokeswoman said.

A spokesman for BAA, the airport's operator, said that a 400-metre exclusion zone had been set up. He stressed the airport was "running as normal".

London fire brigade said it sent about 100 firefighters and 20 fire engines to the scene. A spokesman said the blaze was not yet under control. Police were at the scene.

The BBC reported that it believed a forklift truck caught fire. It said witnesses heard explosions, probably from the gas cylinders on the vehicle.