© Kieran Ball A building site has caught fire in Old Street, sending huge plumes of black smoke into the air near London's financial district.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The fire, which broke out before 9 a.m, occurred in a six-storey building that's under demolition on Old Street, the fire department said.
"Crews worked hard to contain this blaze and to stop it from spreading. The main fire was concentrated around the building's central lift shaft. This created a chimney effect, which is why smoke could be seen for miles around during the early stages of the incident," Station Manager Gareth Cook said in a statement.
The blaze was under control by 10:15 a.m., after the first emergency calls started rolling in around 8:44 a.m. Eight fire engines and 58 firefighters were on the scene.
Here are some pictures of the scene from earlier:
8 fire engines now at the fire in a building that's due for demolition on Old Street in City of #London @kaigani pic.twitter.com/fIFBPpfLZt
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) November 12, 2015I wondered what the fire engine was rushing to at old street and then I turned around. pic.twitter.com/O7E3ZBmXxS
— scott (@scotscotscot) November 12, 2015
Comment: There was another huge fire in London the previous day: Blaze on London's Fleet Street near Goldman Sachs offices