Two people have been taken to hospital for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out on a tube train, forcing an evacuation at one of the busiest underground stations in London.

Four passengers were treated at Oxford Circus station for smoke inhalation, with two taken to hospital as a precaution, the London ambulance service said.

Thousands of commuters had to leave the station, the gateway to the capital’s busiest shopping district, after smoke was seen billowing out of a Bakerloo line train carriage during Friday morning rush hour.

British Transport Police (BTP) were called to the scene but said they did not believe the cause of the fire to be suspicious.

We are continuing to investigate smoke issuing at platform level at #OxfordCircus tube station © @tomsinger pic.twitter.com/8UV1Dp1axW — London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) August 11, 2017

London ambulance service said: “We were called at 8.53am to reports of an incident on board a Bakerloo line train at Oxford Circus tube station.

“We sent an ambulance crew, our hazardous area response team and an incident response officer to the scene, with the first of our medics arriving in less than five minutes.”

Passengers captured images of the smoke-filled carriage and posted them on social media.

Fire on the bakerloo line Oxford circus today - great Friday start pic.twitter.com/SVtZxWClDi — Joe Bunting (@jnzbunting) August 11, 2017

Other images show passengers on the train covering their mouths and noses.



The London fire brigade said it was called to the scene at 8.50am and that three fire engines had been sent.



A spokesman for Transport for London said: “Oxford Circus is currently closed and cleared of people. All trains that run to Oxford Circus station are currently not stopping at the station. The station is closed because of a fire alert.”

There were severe delays on the Bakerloo line at midmorning.

BTP said the cause of the fire was not being treated as suspicious.

Other commuters tweeted:

There's a fire at #OxfordCircus tube. Bakerloo line is on fire and you can smell the black smoke going through. Hope everyone is ok! — Lulu (@lucyjanefunnell) August 11, 2017