UPDATE: Fourteen men were arrested on suspicion of arson, the Metropolitan Police said. They were subsequently de-arrested.
A man has been taken to hospital after being rescued by firefighters who battled a huge blaze at an ‘Ibiza style’ nightclub in Greenwich on Monday.
Thick clouds of smoke engulfed parts of south London and about 100 firefighters attended the scene, tackling the blaze at Studio 338 in Boord St.
Fifteen fire engines attended the blaze, which also affected a recycling unit and some industrial units.
Studio 338, which describes itself as ‘London’s only all day, all night terrace’ underwent a major refurbishment in January this year to install a glass and steel atrium, and an outdoor beach.
Studio 338 thanked supporters “for all the love” at this difficult time, adding: “You are the best family we could wish for.”
The venue opened as Studio 338 in March 2014, being billed as ‘London’s biggest nightclub’ with venue capacity of 3,000.
Ticket holders to future events have been told to wait until the outcome of the fire is clear before being able to seek a refund.
Pictures shared on social media show the extent of the fire, which broke out near the O2.
London Fire Brigade received more than 50 emergency calls at 11.43am.
Smoke could be seen for miles across the capital.
Fire engines attended from a number of nearby stations, including East Greenwich, Greenwich, Plumstead, Eltham, Deptford, Lewisham, Poplar, Whitechapel, and Bethnal Green.
The London Ambulance Service were also on the scene.
London Fire Brigade said a safety cordon was in place around the area as some gas cylinders were “involved” in the Greenwich fire.
Winston Douglas, station manager, said: “Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus rescued a man from the nightclub building and he has been taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service suffering from burns.
“This is a large fire and the smoke could be seen from across London, meaning our 999 control officers took over 50 emergency calls.
“Our firefighters are making steady progress but they will be at the scene for the rest of the day, and possibly into the evening so please try and avoid the area if possible.”
“We are advising people living in the area to keep their doors and windows closed as the fire is producing a lot of smoke.”
A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We sent a single responder in a car, an ambulance crew, our hazardous area response team, two incident response officers and London’s Air Ambulance to the scene.
“We treated one patient at the scene for burns. They were taken to hospital by London’s air ambulance. We remain on the scene.”
The fire affected the ground and first floor of the nightclub.
London Fire Brigade said an industrial warehouse was completely alight.
A scrap paper processing yard containing a number of outbuildings was also affected by the fire, along with about 40 pallets of paper.
The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.
There is limited access on the nearby roads due to the fire, with Millennium Way, Greenwich Peninsula and Boord Street all currently closed.