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All clear at London City Airport after fire alarm

October 21, 2016

After a fire alarm at London City Airport, a number of passengers reported feeling unwell. The airport was evacuated, and security services swept the premises, but have said they found no elevated chemical levels.

https://p.dw.com/p/2RXew
Großbritannien Flughafen London City Airport
Image: Reuters/E. Keogh

London City Airport's initial announcement of the security scare on Friday said that the building had been cleared after a fire alarm. 

Before long, though, reports emerged of at least 26 people being treated and another two hospitalized with breathing difficulties, prompting concerns about a possible chemical incident. 

London's fire services led the emergency services response, saying they had been called out to investigate a potential chemical incident, before giving the all-clear on Friday evening. 

"Two complete sweeps of the airport building were carried out jointly by firefighters and police officers both wearing protective equipment," fire services said. "No elevated readings were found and the building was ventilated, searched and declared safe."

The incident forced the evacuation of the building, all flights in and out of the airport were temporarily canceled. 

London City Airport is the British capital's smallest but most central airport, dealing with over 4 million passengers in 2015.

cw/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters)