A hotel was evacuated after a burst water main caused flooding near King’s Cross station in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said eight fire stations and around 60 firefighters responded to the incident on Pentonville Road, which affected an area of ​​around 250 square metres.

About 20 people at the nearby King’s Cross Express Inn were evacuated by emergency services due to flooding, while the basements of “several” residential and commercial properties were affected, LFB said.

The fire service was called at 04:07 CET and reported on Sunday afternoon that floodwaters near King’s Cross were “receding” but traffic was still “severely disrupted”.

Sanjay Swaminarayan, the hotel’s manager, said 15 rooms in the basement and ground floor were flooded.

Water was pumped out of the building on King’s Cross Road on Sunday afternoon.

“The carpet is simply floating on the water,” he told the BBC.

He added that while the sleepless guests had shown “understanding” for the evacuation, the hotel was still trying to book rooms for them in other hotels tonight.

“So we are not making any money, but we are also spending more money,” he said.

LFB dispatched mobile flood barriers and specialized water rescue teams to the scene of the accident.

Pentonville Road is closed to traffic at the junction with King’s Cross Road.

Islington Council has asked people to avoid the area while emergency services respond. Emergency services have advised shops to temporarily close.

Sainsbury’s said its branch on the road had been affected by flooding, while Honest Burgers said its restaurant on Pentonville Road was closed on Sunday “due to flooding”.

According to Transport for London, 11 bus routes were diverted on Sunday morning, while three had resumed normal service by Sunday afternoon.

Bus lines 17, 30, 46, 63, 73, 205, 214 and 476 are still affected, while there will be changes to night lines N63, N73 and N205 on Sunday evening.

Thames Water announced on Sunday afternoon that its technicians had shut off the main water supply to the broken pipe and drained excess water.

“Our engineers will work through the night to repair the pipe damaged by the burst,” it said.

It further stated that a cleanup operation is currently underway while support teams are assisting affected customers.

In February, the waterworks announced A £20 million project to replace the area’s Victorian pipes over the next three years.

LFB said firefighters would monitor the flood-affected area using a drone and that traffic in the area would be “severely disrupted.”

On Sunday, teams from Euston, Islington, Soho and surrounding fire stations were on site.

The Metropolitan Police said its officers were assisting the fire service, while the city council said members of its emergency response team were also at the scene.