A man has escaped a van before it burst into flames inside the Blackwall Tunnel.

The fire broke out at the northbound end of the tunnel just before 12.15pm today (August 28).

The van was destroyed in the blaze, which was extinguished at around 1.20pm.

The driver left the vehicle before the arrival of the London Fire Brigade.

One video, which was posted on X, shows motorists evacuate and abandon their vehicles. 

One person can be heard saying: "That was so scary. I was running with my baby." 

An ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of Hazardous Area Response Team from London Ambulance Service also attended. 

A patient refused treatment at the scene and paramedics were later stood down.

Long delays remain at the tunnel as the incident is being dealt with (and remains closed as of 5pm).

The fire has caused congestion to Woolwich Road Flyover, and both ways on Blackwall Lane to and from Woolwich Road and Trafalgar Road.

Crews from Lewisham, Poplar, Millwall and surrounding fire stations attended the scene.

A spokesperson for London Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 12.18pm on Wednesday 28 August to reports of an incident in Tunnel Approach, SE10.

“We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART).

“We attended the scene to assist our emergency services partners.

"The patient at the scene declined all treatment and we were stood down.”