Fire shuts down Heathrow air services, stranding thousands

Cause being probed; impact to last several days, 1,350 flights affected

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A LARGE fire near London's Heathrow Airport knocked out power Friday to Europe's busiest flight hub, forcing it to shut all day and disrupting global travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

At least 1,350 flights to and from Heathrow were affected, flight tracking service Flight Radar 24 said, and the impact was likely to last several days as passengers try to reschedule their travel and airlines work to get planes and crew to the right places.

Authorities do not know what caused the fire but so far found have no evidence it was suspicious.

Residents in west London described hearing a large explosion, followed by a fireball and clouds of smoke, when the blaze ripped through the electrical substation near the airport.