Luton Airport fire cars 'unlikely to be salvageable'

Up to 1,500 cars were inside the car park when the fire happened

Luton Airport says it is "unlikely" any vehicles will be salvageable following a massive fire that caused one of its car parks to collapse.

Flights were suspended after the blaze ripped through Terminal Car Park 2 on Tuesday night.

Up to 1,500 cars were inside and the airport said it had replied to almost 16,500 customer queries since the fire.

The emergency services have returned control of the car park to airport management.

"Regrettably, it is unlikely that any vehicles in the car park will be salvageable, but this is still in the process of being assessed," said an airport spokesman.

"We recognise this has been an extremely distressing time for all concerned and we would like to thank our customers for their ongoing patience and understanding while we work through the many complexities following this incident."

The spokesman said the airport had provided the Motor Insurers' Bureau with the registration details of 1,405 vehicles and was working with the Association of British Insurers to try to retrieve any personal items.

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Inbound passengers on Tuesday were diverted to other airports, some scrambled to find alternative transport or hotel accommodation while others told the BBC they were "in limbo".

Luton Airport said it had passed on registration details of 1,405 vehicles to insurers

Three firefighters and a member of airport staff were taken to hospital suffering from the effects of breathing in smoke on Tuesday.

A further firefighter was treated at the scene by the paramedics. No serious injuries were reported.