A major fire at a restaurant in Chinatown was caused by an unattended wok, officials have said.
About 80 firefighters battled the early morning blaze at the scene in Gerrard Street, Soho, last morning.
The third floor of the four storey building was completely destroyed while part of the second floor was damaged.
Images posted on social media showed thick black smoke billowing into the sky as firefighters fought for three hours to get the inferno under control. Plumes of smoke could be seen for miles across the capital.
Two people left the property before firefighters arrived, while another two were led out by emergency services.
Firefighters have now issued a safety warning after finding the incident was caused by an unattended pan.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: "Whenever you are cooking, it's really important to keep an eye on it all times and never leave it unattended.
"You should also make sure you keep the hob, cooker hood and extractor fan clean too – built up fat and grease can ignite and cause a fire.
"We'd also like to remind restaurant and takeaway owners to ensure they don't have dirty ducting. If you don't clean the ducting in your extraction system regularly, you're at a greater risk of ducting fires."
