Anti-terrorism Police Investigate Allegations Of Sabotage Fire At UK Heathrow Airport

Landing plane or landing Heathrow Airport in London, England. (Belinda Fewings-Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The British Police Anti-terrorism Police were deployed to investigate allegations of sabotage at the electric substation fire in Hayes which affected thousands of flights at Heathrow Airport.

The New York Times reports that anti-terrorism detectives are being deployed as a precaution, not as a sign of a crime.

Deputy commissioner of the London Fire Brigade Jonathan Smith confirmed this. However, it could not be further explained regarding the investigation carried out by the police.

"What I can say is that the Metropolitan Police are investigating the cause of this fire, being well assisted by our fire investigation officers, and we, of course, will help with the process," Smith said, Friday, March 21.

The red rooster, apart from engulfing an electric substation in Hayes, also scorched 25,000 liters of oil cooler. As a result, power outages hit Heathrow and its surroundings.

Citing the Mirror, Heathrow Airport will be closed throughout the day on Friday, March 21 with an undetermined deadline.

Passengers have also been warned not to approach the airport. Part of the M4 toll road and other routes around the incident area were also closed, causing many public transport passengers to be displaced.

FlightRadar24 said the airport closure would affect at least 1,351 flights from and Heathrow, which is one of the busiest airports in the UK with a record of more than 83.9 million passengers last year.