Luton Airport, outside London, said it had suspended flights until 3 p.m. Wednesday after a fire caused one of its parking garages to collapse overnight.
The fire, which began on Tuesday evening, led to a “partial structural collapse” at Terminal Car Park 2, the airport’s operator said on its website. Luton is London’s fourth-largest airport, serving mostly discount airlines.
The Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said it first received calls about the fire shortly before 9 p.m. It deployed 15 fire trucks and more than 100 firefighters to the blaze, which quickly grew in intensity. Up to 1,200 vehicles were estimated to have been in the parking garage and damaged.
Firefighters were still battling the blaze at around 4 a.m., and the airport advised passengers to not head to the airport, though hundreds of people were already stranded there, according to news media reports.
The fire service said in a statement at 7 a.m. that the firefighting operations were continuing as crews dampened the area. Emergency services were expected to remain on the scene for hours. An investigation will be held to determine the cause.
Four firefighters and an airport worker were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, the BBC reported.
John Yoon contributed reporting.
