Man Hospitalized After Van Explosion in Wimbledon Car Park

A man in his 60s was hospitalized with burns after the contents of a van exploded in an underground car park near Wimbledon station in south London on Monday morning. The incident, which occurred around 10 a.m. on Queens Road, prompted a swift response from emergency services and led to the evacuation of the nearby Wimbledon Quarter shopping centre.

Police officers arrived at the scene at 10:10 a.m. following reports of the explosion. According to a Metropolitan Police spokesperson, the van struck the roof of the car park, causing its contents to ignite. The London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade also attended, with paramedics treating the driver on site before transporting him to a hospital for further assessment. A London Ambulance Service spokesperson stated, "We were called at 10:06 a.m. on Monday, November 17, to reports of an explosion on Queens Road, Wimbledon. We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, a paramedic in a fast response car and an incident response officer. We also dispatched paramedics from our hazardous area response team. We treated a man at the scene for burns and took him to hospital as a priority."