Terror blasts rock London

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Thu, 07 Jul 2005 05:12:28 -0700

[Zepps_News] Terror blasts rock London

 

 

 

 

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,12780,1523169,00.html>

Terror blasts rock London

 

· At least two killed as bus and tube hit

· Blair condemns 'barbarism'

· 'Multiple casualties' reported

 

Sarah Left and Mark Oliver and agencies

Thursday July 7, 2005

 

 

Emergency services work near the wreckage of a bus after an explosion in

Tavistock Squaure in London. Photograph: Johnathan Bainbridge/Reuters

 

 

At least seven explosions ripped through London's transport system today

as suspected terrorist attacks on tube trains and a bus plunged the

capital into chaos. At least two people are known to have been killed.

 

Officials shut down the whole of the London Underground system and

Docklands Light Railway and cancelled all central London bus services as

they tried to comprehend the scale of the disaster. Hundreds of wounded

people are being treated in London hospitals.

 

The prime minister, Tony Blair, said it was " reasonably clear " the

blasts were the work of terrorists and said it was " particularly

barbaric " that attacks had been timed to coincide with the start of the

G8 summit. He said he would leave Gleneagles in Scotland to return to

London.

 

" It is our determination. They will never succeed in destroying what we

hold dear in this country, and other civilised nations around the

world, " Mr Blair said. " It's important however that those engaged in

terrorism realise that our determination to defend our values and our

way of life is greater than their determination to cause death and

destruction in an attempt to impose extremism on the world. "

 

One explosion ripped apart a double-decker bus at Tavistock Square near

Russell Square. Union officials said they had received reports of two

more bus explosions, but details were not immediately available and

police did not confirm the reports.

 

Coordinated attacks across London

 

Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Ian Blair said: " We are concerned

that this is a coordinated attack. " He confirmed explosions at Edgware

Road, King's Cross, Aldgate East, Liverpool Street, Russell Square

station and Moorgate, as well as the explosion on the bus at Tavistock

Square.

 

Police said two people had been killed in the explosion at Aldgate East

station, and an unknown number at Edgware Road. A policeman on the scene

of the bus explosion at Tavistock Square said people had been killed

there too. The ambulance service spoke of " a number " of fatalities.

 

Sir Ian said there had been many casualties but would not give estimates

of the numbers of people involved. Sir Ian said that the most seriously

injured people were currently being operated on.

 

He urged people to stay at home until further notice and not go into

central London.

 

" We are gradually bringing order to the city. Just stay where you are

for the time being until the situation clears, " he said.

 

Hospitals deal with horrific injuries

 

Julian Nettle of St Mary's hospital London said the hospital was dealing

with four people with critical injuries including loss of limbs, and

eight people with serious injuries such as head wounds. He said a

further 14 people were being treated for more minor injuries including

hearing loss, which he said seemed to have been caused by being involved

in an explosion. The Royal London hospital said it had treated 95

people, including seven with critical injuries.

 

Laura Matthews, a press officer at Universities UK, which has offices in

Tavistock Square, said she had seen bodies lying around the bus

explosion, some of them without arms or legs. " Get people down here

quickly, " she sobbed. She thought a bomb had gone off and was trying to

evacuate her office.

 

There were unconfirmed reports that a number of people on the bus had

died. " We believe there have been a number of fatalities and a number of

people who are seriously injured, " a policeman at the scene said.

 

Union officials said their sources had told them there had been at least

one explosive device on the Underground. British Transport police

initially said power surges had caused explosions across the network.

The blasts began just before 9am as commuters were made their way to work.

 

Emergency services attended to wounded passengers outside Aldgate

station, and there were reports of passengers covered in soot emerging

from King's Cross. Commuters came out of tunnels covered in blood.

 

A passenger on the train that exploded at Edgware Road said he had seen

several bodies in the wreckage, the Press Association reported.

 

A Scotland Yard source said the force would be setting up a casualty

bureau, with a telephone number for people to call if they were worried

about their loved ones.

 

Downing Street emergencies committee meets

 

The home secretary, Charles Clarke, said the public would be kept

updated on the situation. A Commons statement was expected later today.

 

Mr Clarke confirmed there had been " terrible injuries " in the explosions

across the capital. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, he said the

Cobra civil emergencies committee of senior ministers had met.

 

The police had taken " operational command " of the situation, he said.

 

" Health services are in support to deal with the terrible injuries that

there have been, and I want to express sympathy on behalf of the whole

government, " he said.

 

'There were loads of people screaming'

 

Eyewitness Belinda Seabrook said she saw the explosion rip though a

double-decker bus as it approached Tavistock Square, which is between

Euston and Russell Square stations.

 

" I was on the bus in front and heard an incredible bang. I turned round

and half the double-decker bus was in the air, " she said.

 

Simon Corvett, 26, from Oxford, was on the eastbound train leaving

Edgware Road tube station when an explosion happened.

 

" All of sudden there was this huge bang. It was absolutely deafening and

all the windows shattered. The glass did not actually fall out of the

windows, it just cracked. The train came to a grinding halt and everyone

fell off their seats, " he said.

 

Mr Corvett, who works in public relations, said the commuter train was

absolutely packed. " There were just loads of people screaming and the

carriages filled with smoke. You couldn't really breathe and you

couldn't see what was happening. The driver came on the Tannoy and said

'We have got a problem, don't panic', " he said.

 

Mr Corvett, whose face was covered in soot, joined other passengers to

force open the train doors with a fire extinguisher. He said the

carriage on the other track was destroyed. " You could see the carriage

opposite was completely gutted. There were some people in real trouble. "

 

Eyewitnesses reported " multiple casualties " at Liverpool Street. A

spokesman for the Airport Express Alliance, which operates the Heathrow

Express, Gatwick Express and Stansted Express train services said: " They

are operating on injured people on the concourse at Liverpool Street

station. "

 

One witness who had been in a train at the time of the explosions

reported seeing " bodies everywhere " in the carriages and limbs lying on

the floor. Emergency services reported several injuries. Scotland Yard

declared the emergency a " major incident " .

 

The shutdown of the London Underground system is thought to be

unprecedented.

 

A British Transport police spokesman said two trains remained stuck in

tunnels at Edgware Road, but it is not known whether they had collided

or whether passengers remained on board.

 

" It's difficult to know exactly what is going on at the moment, " he

said. " The initial report came from Liverpool Street, but there are

incidents occurring across the network. "

 

He said officers have been sent into the network to assist with rescue

operations.

 

" Officers are working at tunnel and platform level to help get people

out and to help find out what has happened, " he said.

 

The public were warned to stay clear of London for non-essential

journeys. A Network Rail spokesman said southbound services into the

capital were terminating at Watford, with no onward bus transfers.

 

" Some trains are being cancelled and others are getting as far as

Watford, " he said. " The message we are trying to get across to

passengers is don't travel if you don't have to. "

 

News of the explosions caused the FTSE 100 index of leading shares to

plunge by over 200 points.

 

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