Explosions in London - terrorism?
 

Anyone got specifics?

There's been an explosion at the Liverpool Station or Aldgate Station in London. People are trapped inside the tube, several people are hurt. Electricity's out in all of London (?). Something's also happened at Edgware Roads station?

Ice

Thursday July 7, 09:58 AM


People hurt after Tube power surge

Several people have been injured after an incident on the London Underground.

British Transport Police said power surge incidents, some of which have caused explosions, have occurred on the London Underground at Aldgate, Edgware Road, King's Cross, Old Street and Russell Square.

Emergency services were called to London's Liverpool Street Station after reports of an explosion shortly before 9am.

British Transport Police said the incident, reported at at 8.49am on the Metropolitan Line between Liverpool Street and Aldgate, was thought to have been caused by a collision between two trains, a power cut or a power cable exploding.

A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: "We have just sent some resources out to the scene. We have sent a number of vehicles to Liverpool Street station."

BTP confirmed that there are "walking wounded" and said paramedics have responded to one report of a person classed as "life at risk".

"There are walking wounded, but that is as much as we know at the moment," said the spokesman.

He confirmed that the incident took place on the Metropolitan Line between Aldgate and Liverpool Street and said the line has been evacuated.

King's Cross, Liverpool Street and Aldgate stations have also been cleared.

A spokesman for Tube infrastructure company Metronet, which is responsible for maintaining the Metropolitan line, said: "It looks as if we have a major incident. The whole system is being shut down."

Iwas just reading it. The article I was reading, is pretty much the same:


People hurt in Tube 'power surge'
King's Cross
Passengers were evacuated from King's Cross station
Several people have been injured after explosions blamed on a power surge led to the whole London Underground network being closed down until further notice.

British Transport Police said some of the power surges had caused explosions.

Surges took place at Aldgate, Edgware Road, King's Cross, Old Street and Russell Square stations.

A spokesman said there were "walking wounded" at Liverpool Street station but one person's life was reported to be "at risk".

Scotland Yard confirmed they were assisting with a "major incident" and said there were casualties.

A spokesman said officers were called out to Aldgate station at 8.50am to assist City of London and British Transport Police.

"All of the emergency services are on scene. There have been some casualties. This has been declared as a major incident," said the spokesman. "It's too early to state what has happened at this stage," he said.

The National Grid, which supplies power to the Underground, said there had been no problems with its system which could have contributed to the incidents.

'Screaming and crying'

Jacqui Head, from BBC News, who had just left King's Cross station on a Piccadilly Line train as an explosion happened, said: "Everything was normal. Suddenly there was a massive bang, the train jolted.

"There was immediately smoke everywhere and it was hot and everybody panicked. People started screaming and crying."

The train was kept in the tunnel for 20 minutes and no announcement was made to explain the delay to passengers, she added.

London Fire Brigade said four crews were at Liverpool Street and more were on their way.

Another passenger, who had left the Tube at Fenchurch Street Station, and walked to Aldgate East, told BBC Five Live that he saw injured people.

"As I walked through the bus station I could see people lying on the ground, black, as if they'd been covered in smoke. There were about three or four people on the floor being treated."

Eyewitness Paul Woloszyn from BBC News, who was at Blackhorse Road station on the Victoria Line, said: "We were told there was a bomb at Liverpool Street station.

Tube stations affected
London Underground stations affected

"I was on the Tube, and they stopped the train and told everyone to get off and evacuate the station."

He said staff had said the entire Tube network had been affected, and leaflets had been handed out with details of alternative bus routes.

Another eyewitness, Dorothy Molloy, had been on a Tube train at King's Cross and said "staff just chucked everyone out of the station".

She said staff there had not given any details, but she said two passengers she had spoken to had said they had received messages saying there had been bombs.

"People didn't really know what was going on, they were just huffing and puffing and saying how annoying it was," she said.

"People don't seem to be panicked, but there's so many police and ambulances coming into the areas. People are just concerned, and some are just annoyed at the delay."

Some sort of electrical thing. Coud be terrorism as well. Shows how vulnerable a modern society is to that kind of threats.

ice

Some people died:


Thursday July 7, 10:07 AM


Casualties on London's underground after incident

LONDON (Reuters) - People were seen streaming out of a London underground station covered with blood on Thursday following what police described as a "major incident".

Similar scenes were reported by witnesses outside other stations in the capital. The whole of the system was shut down and major thoroughfares were closed.

The cause of the incident, which occurred at rush-hour on the underground network, was as yet unknown.

"There have been some casualties and this has been declared as a major incident," said a spokeswoman for London's Metropolitan Police.

Emergency services rushed to the Aldgate East underground station where police reported one incident at 8:59 a.m. local time (0759 GMT).

Witnesses said passengers were seen emerging from the station at Aldgate East with blood on their faces and their clothes ripped.

"There were people streaming out of Aldgate station covered in blood," said Kate Heywood, 27, on her way to work.

A Reuters correspondent at Oxford Circus station, at the heart of the underground system, heard an announcement over the public-address system saying: "A power outage has occurred London-wide. All train services are suspended."

A station official said: "All the power has gone down. I don't know when it'll come back."

A bus has been blown:

Thursday July 7, 10:29 AM


Blasts Hit London Bus And Underground

An explosion has "ripped a bus apart" just minutes after a number of blasts on London's Underground.Scotland Yard has confirmed there has been an explosion on a bus in Tavistock Place. Union sources claim there have been reports of blasts on three different buses.

Witness Belinda Seabrook said she saw an explosion rip though a bus as it approached Russell Square.

"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.

Scotland Yard could not confirm reports of an explosion on a bus in Russell Square. A spokeswoman said police were at the scene and attempting to determine what had happened.

The entire Tube network has been shut down following the blasts at Aldgate, Edgware Road, King's Cross, Old Street and Russell Square.

It is understood several people have been wounded in the underground blasts, with one unconfirmed eyewitness telling Sky News he saw "bodies on the line".

British Transport Police confirmed there are "walking wounded" and said paramedics have responded to one report of a person classed as "life at risk".

"It's chaos, with people trying to work out what has happened," said a spokesman.

One witness said the packed underground train he was on was 200 metres from King's Cross when there was a huge flash.

The train stopped and people were using umberellas to smash windows of the trains. Passengers were led out of the train by underground staff.

He added people were milling around King's Cross covered in soot.

Clare Benson, 33, a city banker from Kensington, was on a tube at Edware Road where the second incident took place.

"I was in the last carriage at the back of the train nearest the tunnel when I heard a huge bang - you could feel it," she said.

"The lights went off for a couple of minutes and people were scared and wondering what to do.

"The drivers got out and were looking into the tunnel, then they announced that we should evacuate. My ears are still ringing and I was shaking."


Sounds like terrorism to me.

Ice

It's not an electrical problem, so it's probably intentional bombing. Anyone in England, do you get any more info?

Ice

Just what's coming in through the news. I was lucky, I got to work early but the tube explosions are just two stops from me.

Buses blowing up as well - There is no way a power surge can be blamed.

The mobile networks are down here as everyone is phoning to check everyone else is ok. On the river outside, police boats are stopping any other boats that are moving.

London is under full scale alert.

I didn't think they could be blamed even for the tube explosions. Any terrorism-related stuff going on in the news?

Good to know you're ok. Keep us posted, ok? The news agencies are kinda slow.

Ice

Union: 'Explosive device' on Tube

Jul 7 2005

Rail union officials have said their sources had told them there had been at least one explosive device on the Underground.

from here

Ice