Heathrow Airport passengers facing huge delays after car fire breaks out in tunnel

Passengers travelling from Heathrow Airport are facing massive delays on the road after a fire on the M4.

A car was engulfed in flames inside a tunnel in the early hours of this morning.

Two fire engines were deployed to the scene to extinguish the flames, but the car was entirely destroyed.

This has forced National Highways to close the M4 southbound, between the J4 and J4A.

Traffic is now being diverted via local routes and drivers are being urged to consider using the M25 J14 or the M4 J3 to access Heathrow Airport.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: ‘We were called just before 3am today to reports of car fire in a tunnel near Heathrow Airport.

‘Firefighters attended and discovered a car fully alight. The fire was safely extinguished by firefighters and no one was reported to be injured.’

The vehicle involved was diesel-powered. The airport has since confirmed the tunnel has reopened.’

The fire broke out inside the east ramp, with firefighters arriving to find the vehicle completely destroyed.

Firefighters got the blaze under control by 3.45am and left the scene at around 4:30am.

London Ambulance were called to the scene but there are no reports of any injuries.

Separately, National Rail warned of disruptions between Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 4 expected until 7am due to a fire next to the track.

The network later confirmed trains are now running normally.

Authorities at Heathrow said that due to an earlier vehicle fire, road access to Terminals 2 and 3 is ‘partially restricted’.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: ‘An earlier vehicle fire affecting road access to Terminals 2 and 3 has now been resolved. All roads have now reopened but there continues to be some congestion around the airport. We apologise for the disruption caused this morning. 

An earlier statement read: ‘Passengers are advised to leave more time travelling to the airport and use public transport where possible. We apologise for the disruption caused.’

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