Fire crews on an elevated platform tackling the blaze at the Mandarin Chinese restaurant this afternoon
POLICE have said residents evacuated from their homes to a fire at a Derry restaurant will likely not be able to return until Thursday.
The Fire and Rescue Service had declared the blaze as a “major incident” and drafted in a total of 130 personnel to tackle the fire at Strand Road.
More than a dozen appliances are and two aerial platforms were mobilised by NIFRS operational planners.
As dusk fell over the city, the fire is still burning with a smog of black smoke was carried on the high winds, with residents nearby told to keep their windows and doors closed.
The fire broke out about 12.50 pm in the kitchen of the Mandarin Palace on Strand Road.
As the fire still rages, police say Strand Road and Queen’s Quay will remain closed until sometime tomorrow.
Chief Inspector Andy Lemon said that although the cause to the fire had not been established, police believe it started in a duct in the kitchen and then spread throughout the building.
The road between Queens Quay roundabout and Harbour Square roundabout is also closed.
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