Man detained after bomb scare at London’s Charing Cross rail station

London: A man accused of going on to the tracks at London's Charing Cross tube station on Friday and falsely claiming to have a bomb was arrested by police and detained under the Mental Health Act.

British Transport Police (BTP) said officers were called "after receiving reports of a man on the tracks claiming to have a bomb". The 38-year-man's claim sparked panic and led to the evacuation of people from the station, the Guardian reported. 

"Both the underground and mainline stations were evacuated as a precautionary measure and a cordon was put in place whilst officers dealt with the incident," said a BTP spokesperson.

The man was detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act and taken to a place of safety, said the spokesperson. No weapon was found and no injuries were reported. 

There was a brief disruption to the mainline and London Underground services, but later all started running normally.

According to BBC, there were dozens of armed counter-terrorism officers at the scene with shields and machine guns.