Fire at Silvertown Tunnel site

28 September 2022


A fire broke out at the Silvertown Tunnel site in London last night.

Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters were called to a fire on the construction site at Silvertown, on the north side of the River Thames.

Half of a conveyor belt was damaged by fire. Around 25 people left the site before the Brigade arrived. There were no reports of any injuries.

The Brigade’s 999 Control Officers received 15 calls to the blaze.

Station commander Daniel Capon, who was at the scene, said: “Access to the fire was challenging, with firefighters working to reach a sub-surface conveyor belt.

“Crews worked incredibly hard to bring the fire under control.”

The Brigade was called at 22:23 and the fire was under control by 00:08.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A Transport for London (TfL) spokesperson said: “We are aware that last night (27 September 2022) a small fire broke out by the conveyor belt system, which removes spoil from the launch chamber of the Silvertown Tunnel in Newham. All emergency procedures were followed and nobody was hurt as a result. Safety is our top priority and an urgent investigation with Riverlinx and its contractors is underway to fully understand the cause of the fire.”

Tunnelling on the new Thames crossing, which is using the largest diameter TBM ever employed in the UK, started earlier this month. The 1.4km road tunnel is being built by Riverlinx consortium, a joint venture between Bam Nuttall, Ferrovial Construction and SK Ecoplant, through a design, build, finance, operate and maintain contract.

TfL said it would continue to work closely with Riverlinx to ensure safety standards remained high across all construction sites associated with the Silvertown Tunnel.