'Chemical incident' at flats hospitalises 10 people

The incident happened at Ethel Rankin House, the BBC understands

A "chemical incident" has led to 10 people in a west London block of flats being taken to hospital, the London Ambulance Service (LAS) has said.

Emergency services were called to the scene at the block on Landridge Road in Fulham at about 00:40 BST.

People were "mostly treated for respiratory issues" at the scene then transferred to hospital, an LAS spokesperson said.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the 10 people had been "exposed to an unknown chemical substance".

'Protracted incident'

Police are waiting for an update on their condition.

About 60 firefighters, including some using breathing apparatus, responded in an operation that lasted just over five hours, a London Fire Brigade (LFB) spokesperson said

Residents of Ethel Rankin House, where BBC News understands the incident took place, were evacuated during the response.

The LFB spokesperson said: "Firefighters carried out a final monitoring sweep of the building and found no elevated readings, allowing residents to return to their properties."

Station commander Graham Crow, who was at the scene, said it was a "protracted incident".

An LAS spokesperson said: “We sent a number of resources including ambulance crews, incident response officers, members of our Hazardous Area Response Team and a trauma team in a car from London’s Air Ambulance."

An investigation is ongoing into the cause of the incident, the Met said.