Fire closes part of Oxford street

LONDON (Reuters) - A fire at a clothing shop on Thursday forced the partial closure of Oxford Street, the city's main retail thoroughfare, police and the fire brigade said, adding there were no immediate reports of casualties.

A police spokeswoman said the fire at the New Look store 200 metres east of Oxford Circus broke out at 4:55 p.m. when the shop was still open.

Police, fire brigade and ambulances were called, the building had been evacuated and part of the street had been closed.

"There are no reports of casualties at this time," she said.

A fire brigade spokeswoman said initial reports suggested that quarter of the second floor of the building, that also houses offices, was alight.

She said it was too early to establish the cause.