Moment rickshaw EXPLODES in massive fireball next to one of UK’s busiest tourist attractions as black smoke fills sky
SHOCKING footage shows the moment a rickshaw explodes in a massive fireball next to one of the UK’s busiest tourist attractions.
Black smoke filled the sky in central London as a pedicab “tuktuk” ignites outside a Harry Potter attraction visited by millions.
Horrifying footage show a pedicab, sometimes known as a Rickshaw, engulfed in flames on Saturday afternoon.
The blaze happened right next to one of the capital’s busiest attractions in Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, at the Palace Theatre in Soho.
The magical show, popular with families, has had over two million visitors since it opened in 2016, just feet away from the wall of flames.
The blazing bike was also right next to Cambridge Circus, an incredibly busy crossing on the West End used by thousands every day.
Shocked bystanders watched on as the flames leapt into the air in central London.
The rickshaw was left a charred shell after the flames were extinguished by the fire brigade.
The area is surrounded by theatres, pubs, bars, shops and restaurants that are always filled with tourists and locals, some of whom walked right past the flames at around 6pm.
It is not clear whether the pedicab was set alight on purpose in an arson attack, or if it was a simple electrical fire from the lights and speaker systems attached to the bike.
Harvey, 21, who witnessed the flaming incident, told The Sun: “It happened at around 6pm. Firefighters put it out after about 15 minutes.
“People are talking about whether it was an attack from a rival biker, or if it was just an electrical fire.”
In the videos flames can be seen reaching several feet into the air, with crowds of people standing right next to the smoking pedicab, many recording the incident themselves.
Police soon cordoned off the area and the London Fire Brigade extinguished the flames.
Another user posted a video of the dramatic fire on X, formerly Twitter, saying: “Rickshaw just exploded into flames in Shaftesbury outside The Other Palace theatre”.
Transport for London (TfL) is proposing to regulate pedicabs in the ‘Pedicabs (London) Act 2024’, to make the mode of transport safer.
TfL is currently consulting on the proposed regulations, with a deadline of March 7, 2025.
Pedicabs can be seen all over central London, offering tourists rides through the city with blasting music and flashing lights.
The bikes have had issues with fire before, in September 2024 a pedicab storage unit in London’s Southwark area set alight, likely caused by lithium batteries.
In 2024, a Rickshaw set alight on Buckingham Gate, which leads to Buckingham Palace.
Due to its location some speculated that it could have been a terrorist attack, but the Police did not treat the fire as suspicious.
Whilst a pedicab fire is not too common, e-bikes and scooters have been igniting at alarming rates across London.
In 2024 the London Fire Brigade recorded 142 fires involving e-bikes, as well as 29 e-scooters.
On average there was an e-bike or e-scooter fire every other day.