Is it the fire brigade or hole-in-the-road gang?

Explosion: Emergency workers examine the damage
12 April 2012

An underground explosion sent a manhole cover flying into the air after a suspected electrical fault caused heat to build under the pavement.

Shocked passers-by ran for cover as black smoke billowed from the hole in the ground just feet from where people were queuing for a bus yesterday lunchtime.

Witnesses said the force of the blast could be felt as they drove in their cars nearby.

Firefighters and police rushed to the scene, in Kingsland Road, Dalston, but after a thorough investigation concluded the blast was caused by an electrical fault with cables beneath the road.

No-one was hurt, and police said it was not being treated as suspicious.

Hywel Jones, 47, a television producer who saw the explosion, said: "I was driving past and saw a flash of red and orange flame and could feel the force of the air pressure hit my chest as the window was open.

"There was smoke absolutely pouring out of the manhole and a smell of burning."

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said the exact cause of the explosion was not yet known, but that similar events with manhole covers have occurred before.

He said: "If there's electrical problems underneath it can act like a pressure cooker - it happens fairly regularly."

The road was cordoned off for a number of hours as police worked to secure the scene.

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