A man working in a co-working space in Wimbledon has described the moment a van explosion rocked the shopping centre, saying he “could feel the floor under you go.”
The incident happened in Queens Road near the Broadway at around 10.10am today (November 17).
Officers, London Ambulance Service, and the London Fire Brigade attended and found that the contents of a van had exploded after it reportedly struck the roof of a car park.
Tim Plummer, who works every day at Huddle, a co-working space in the centre, told Your Local Guardian: “I felt a huge shock wave through the place.
“Didn’t have any alarms go off or anything, and the next thing we know is we were evacuated.
“There were three large fire engines and ambulances there.
“It came from the car park.”
The driver, a man in his 60s, was injured and taken to hospital, where his injuries are being assessed.
Tim described the initial fear as thoughts immediately turned to the worst-case scenario.
He explained: “I think it was the case of you’re working in the shopping centre you immediately go to the most extreme thing, has there been a terrorism event.
“Until I know what it is I don’t want to be exposed to any fumes.”
“I think I’ll still continue to work from there, but until I know exactly what the cause of the event was, it would make me think twice."
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said the incident is ongoing and is not believed to be terror-related.
The London Ambulance Service confirmed that a man was treated at the scene for burns before being taken to hospital as a priority.
Queens Road remains closed in both directions, and bus route 200 is on a detour.
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