At least 12 people have suffered burns after a man threw acid across an East London nightclub in the UK.

According to the BBC, around 600 partygoers were evacuated after the male reportedly sprayed acid at revellers in the Mangle E8 nightclub in Dalston, Hackney.

The incident occurred at around 1.00am local time.

Metropolitan Police believe that a man threw acid at two individuals after a row broke out between two groups within the venue.

Two men remain in a serious but stable condition in hospital, whilst ten others have been treated for burns. As yet, no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing. A neighbour nearby the nightclub told the BBC: 

“It happened so fast – they rushed people out. I thought it was a stabbing because all I heard was ‘move, move, move – move out of the area’. The security were telling the crowd to go down that way – people on this side were waiting to go home, but they couldn’t go home because the road was closed. People were confused.”