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About 2,000 people have been cleared from offices, restaurants and shops this afternoon as smoke billowed from manhole covers in Kingsway, Holborn.

Emergency services say that the ¡°major incident¡± close to the LSE¡¯s Holborn campus and not far from King¡¯s College London was caused by a fire beneath the pavement started by power cables.

The fire cannot be put out until the electricity cables are turned off, firefighters say. LSE¡¯s press office was unavailable for comment.

Holborn Tube station has been closed because of the incident, but it is believed that underground services are still running.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said that the situation in Holborn will get worse until electricity companies switch off the power.

¡°When cables burn they produce a great deal of toxic smoke and it¡¯s not safe to be playing around with live cables,¡± he said.??