The roof of London’s O2 Arena has been damaged by Storm Eunice, with winds tearing open parts of its roof as Storm Eunice continues to rage through the capital.
The Met Office issued two “red” weather alerts in south Wales and southwest England, and in London and the southeast, meaning the conditions are posing likely threat to life.
Footage emerged on social media showing a huge split in the white roof of the former Millennium Dome.
According to the most recent video shared online, it appears six panels have since been ripped from the iconic building.
One witness, Mala Sharma, told the PA news agency that “more and more parts are getting ripped off” the O2 building, adding: “It’s going to be a safety issue for people around.”
She said the damage “started off with a patch” but then a “chunk” of the dome roof ripped off.
The building on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, which hosts major events including concerts and features restaurants, bars, shops and a cinema, was formerly known at the Millennium Dome.
“Not just a tent. The world’s most popular music and entertainment venue,” the arena is described on its official Twitter account.
The Independent has approached the O2 for comment.
Simply Red, who were set to play arena this weekend but was later postponed due to Covid, described the damage as “tragic”.
Accompanied by a picture of the gaps in the roof, a tweet from the band’s account read: “Looks like the O2 shows wouldn’t have happened anyhow. Tragic. #Eunice.”
It comes as a gust of 122mph hit the Needles on the Isle of Wight -thought to be the strongest ever recorded in England and higher than the the previous record from the Great Storm of 1987.
As reports emerge of roofs being torn from homes, lorries overturning and large trees being uprooted, passengers on London’s Piccadilly line are among those to have been held up by a fallen tree between Cockfosters and Oakwood.
Join us on our Storm Eunice blog for live updates.
More to follow...
