The Metropolitan Police were called to Queens Road at 10.10am this morning (November 17) with reports of an explosion heard.
Officers were dispatched to the scene alongside colleagues from the London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade.
Queens Road was closed in both directions between Princes Road and The Broadway whilst the scene was dealt with.
Nearby in Wimbledon Shopping Centre, a “shock wave” was felt.
Tim Plummer, who works at a co-working space, Huddle, told this paper: “I felt a huge shock wave through the place.
“Didn’t have any alarms go off or anything, and the next thing we know is we were evacuated.
“There were three large fire engines and ambulances there.”
The explosion was traced to a van parked inside a nearby underground car park.
A spokesperson for the Met said: “Police, the London Ambulance Service, and the London Fire Brigade attended the scene and found that the contents of a van had exploded after the vehicle is believed to have struck the roof of a car park.”
Pictures shared online revealed the aftermath of the explosion, which blew out the side of the van and forced the doors open.
A man in his 60s, understood to be the driver, suffered burns in the incident.
A spokesperson for the London Ambulance Service said: “We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, a paramedic in a fast response car and an incident response officer.
“We also dispatched paramedics from our hazardous area response team (HART).
READ MORE: ‘No terror link’ after van explodes in car park near Wimbledon station
“We treated a man at the scene for burns and took him to hospital as a priority.”
There were no other reports of injuries.
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed the explosion is not being treated as terror-related.
