Holborn building collapse: One injured and over 200 people cleared from site in central London

A man is being treated for injuries on the scene

A building has collapsed in the Aldwych area of central London (Twitter/@m_w_thompson)

A man has been injured and as many as 200 people have been evacuated from buildings in the Aldwych area of central London, after part of a structure collapsed.

Around 30 firefighters were called to the scene on the junction of Portugal Street and Serle Street at 4:14pm, after part of the structure and the scaffolding around it collapsed, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) has said.

Construction workers have described how they fled the scene after they heard a "loud bang" as the six-storey structure caved. Debris smashed the windows of cars parked nearby as it fell to the ground, workers told Press Association reporters on the scene.

Around 100 people were evacuated from the building site, and a further 100 were cleared from neighbouring properties as a precaution. A safety cordon has now been put in place to protect the public, and roads in the area have been closed, according to police and fire brigade officials.

The scene on the junction between Serle Street and Portugal Street (Image: Twitter/@m_w_thompson) (Twitter)

A 56-year-old man has been taken to the Royal London Hospital in east London after he suffered head and hip injuries.

The LFB has tweeted a dramatic photo the scene in the heart of the capital, and said it was lucky that more people were not hurt.

A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service (LAS) confirmed that two ambulance crews and a hazardous area response team remain on the scene.

An LSE Twitter account - LSENews - warned people to "please stay clear" and listed places that had been evacuated.

It added that the university's library has been evacuated, and would remain closed all evening. The incident has occurred in the midst of exam season, as students prepare for their finals.

Mary-Anne Constable, a 27-year-old events manager, told the Evening Standard: "It was like a loud, thunderous sound, and then everyone piled out to see what had happened.

"There's lots of dust in the air still after half an hour so that gives you an idea of the scale of it.

A Twitter user who works nearby wrote on Twitter: "Building collapses opposite my office window! Deafening rumble then the side just dropped slowly as I watched."

The noise of the collapse was also heard in parts of the nearby Royal Courts of Justice.

Additional reporting by PA