Players and crowd forced to evacuate at UK Snooker Championships after fire breaks out in reception area
PLAYERS and fans were evacuated from the UK Snooker Championship after a fire broke out in the reception.
The incident took place at the Barbican Centre in York.
Fans rushed out of the event as the alarms sounded
Fans were reportedly left rubbing shoulders with players and referees after the York venue was evacuated.
One fan on Twitter wrote: “Surreal experience, currently evacuated at the #Snooker UK Championships, stood next to the snooker players and referees.”
Another wrote: “Fire alarm and evacuation at the Barbican just before the start of the evening session. Everyone outside the stage door. Hope it’s a false alarm.”
The World Snooker Tour released a statement on what caused the alarms to sound.
It read: “The Fire Brigade identified a small fire in the reception of the York Barbican.
“It has now been put out and the building has been adjudged as safe for fans and players to return.”
The incident took place just as the evening’s session was due to get on the way.
Coverage on Eurosport featured a confused Ronnie O’Sullivan looking on as the building was evacuated.
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He was alongside snooker legend Jimmy White, who was also on punditry duty for the evening.
The presenters and pundits were forced to also leave the arena. Players took shelter in the warmth of a nearby pub.
Play is due to restart at 8:30pm once a safety inspection has been carried out.
Over on the BBC‘s coverage, producers uploaded a graphic stating that their broadcast had been halted.
It displayed an image of Shaun Murphy and Hossein Vafaei above their name tags and rankings.
One reporter at the venue took to Twitter to say: “Fire alarm at the snooker, building evacuated just prior to the start of the evening session. Smells fiery too.”
