Passengers on a London Underground train were forced to break windows to escape after becoming trapped in a carriage and smelling smoke with no assistance from station staff. The passengers can be seen in video footage trying to force the doors open or kicking the windows, while workers on the platform eventually used tools to break the windows, allowing people to climb out onto the platform at Clapham Common station.
The station’s message boards read “Emergency. Please leave the station immediately.” One passenger, Jake Sharp, tweeted the video of the escape and criticized Transport for London (TfL) for their lack of response. TfL later apologized for the incident and stated that “the London Fire Brigade attended the station and confirmed there was no fire.”
According to TfL, the Northern Line had “no service between Morden and Clapham Common while we responded to a fire alert at Morden.” A British Transport Police spokesperson also confirmed that the issue was caused by brake dust, which can often be mistaken for burning, and that there were no reports of injuries.