A “major incident” has been declared at a Marks and Spencer store in London following a suspected carbon monoxide leak.
Emergency services rushed to the scene on Gallions Road in Charlton, Greenwich on Tuesday morning.
At least 35 people are believed to have been treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, local councillor David Gardner has said.
In a later update, the Labour politican said no customers were affected but more than 40 staff were.
“The store may remain closed for a couple of days while the leak is rectified and assured all safe,” he said.
Crews from the London Fire Brigade are currently working alongside medical staff from the London Ambulance Service and Metropolitan Police to safely resolve the incident.
James Johnson, Strategic Commander for the London Ambulance Service, said: ‘We were called at 9.32am today (16 December) to reports of an incident on Gallions Road, Charlton.
“We have sent a number of resources to the scene, including both conventional ambulance resources, specialist assets such as our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) and Advanced Paramedic Practitioners.”
“We treated 30 people for chemical inhalation. We took 11 patients to hospital and discharged 19 patients at the scene.”
An LFB spokesman said: “Firefighters are currently at the scene of a suspected carbon monoxide incident at a shop on Gallions Road in Charlton.
“Crews are working alongside multi-agency partners to resolve the incident safely. The Brigade was called at 8.35am and two fire engines and two fire rescue units are at the scene.”
In a statement, M&S said: “Our Charlton store is temporarily closed as we investigate an incident that happened earlier this morning, we hope to reopen as soon as possible.”