What caused explosion at Southgate Tube station?

Five people injured as blast sparks mass
panic among commuters

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Officers “were called to reports of people running out of
Southgate Tube station shortly after 7pm on Tuesday”, says The Daily Telegraph.

London Ambulance Service said two people had been taken to
hospital and three others were treated at the scene for minor
injuries.

So what caused the explosion?

“It appears at this stage that the cause of the explosion was a
drill battery short circuit,” according to a statement from the
Metropolitan Police, which added that officers were working with
the British Transport Police (BTP) to “establish the full
facts”.

Witness James Ayton told the Press Association that he was on
the escalator when he saw a “quick burst” of “6ft plus” flames at
the top that sparked a mass stampede as people fled the station.
Ayton said: “It wasn’t a bang. It was like a very rapid whooshing
sound.”

The escalator was packed because a number of passengers had just
come off a train, he added. “A few people got trampled on the
escalator. There was screaming. An old woman got trampled on. I had
to carry a woman up the stairs. I think she was in shock to be
honest. She couldn’t walk, shaking,” Ayton said.

Another witness told the London Evening Standard that someone was
seen being taken out of the station on a stretcher.

The police confirmed to Metro that the incident was not believed to be
terror-related.

Repeated warnings about the severity of the terrorist threat and
the series of attacks Britain suffered last year “means there is
huge attention on such reported incidents”, says The Guardian.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan praised emergency services for their
“swift and professional response” to the incident.