Thursday - July 07, 2005

London Bombed !

LONDON—Half a dozen explosions rocked the London subway and tore open a packed double-decker bus during the morning rush hour Thursday, police said. At least two people were killed and nine injured in the nearly simultaneous blasts, and officials shut down the entire underground transport network.

The explosions came a day after London was awarded the 2012 Olympics and as the G-8 summit was getting under way in Scotland. Initial reports blamed a power surge for the subway explosions, but officials were not ruling out an attack.

“There have been a number of dreadful incidents across London today,” said Home Secretary Charles Clarke, Britain’s top law enforcement officer. He said there were “terrible injuries.” A senior Israeli official said Scotland Yard told Israel minutes before the explosions that it had received warnings of possible terror attacks. Italy’s European commissioner, Franco Frattini, called the explosions a terrorist strike, the Apcom and ANSA news agencies reported.

Sir Ian Blair, London’s police chief, said he was concerned the explosions were a coordinated attack but said he wouldn’t speculate on who was responsible. He said officials had found indications of explosives at one of the sites. Bloodied and bandaged witnesses reported panicked crowds fleeing as the blast rained glass and other debris onto the street. One witness, Darren Hall, said some passengers emerging from an evacuated subway station had soot and blood on their faces. He told BBC TV that he was evacuated along with others near the major King’s Cross station and only afterward heard a blast.

Police confirmed an explosion destroyed a double-decker bus at Russell Square in central London and said they suspected a bomb caused the blast. Dow Jones Newswires reported that police said there were explosions on two other buses. A witness at the Russell Square blast said the entire top deck of that bus was destroyed. “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,” Belinda Seabrook told Press Association, the British news agency.

She said the bus was packed with people. “It was a massive explosion and there were papers and half a bus flying through the air,” she said. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was hosting the world’s most powerful leaders at Gleneagles, Scotland, was expected to make a statement at 7 a.m. EDT. It was not clear if the G-8 gathering focusing on climate change and aid for Africa _ but from which Iraq has largely been left off the agenda _ would have to be postponed.

Police said incidents were reported at the Aldgate station near the Liverpool Street railway terminal, Edgware Road and King’s Cross in north London, Old Street in the financial district and Russell Square in central London, near the British Museum. Bradley Anderson, a subway passenger, told Sky News that “there was some kind of explosion or something” as his train reached the Edgware Road station in northeast London.

“Everything went black and we collided into some kind of oncoming train,” Anderson said. Simon Corvett, 26, who was on an eastbound train from Edgware Road station, said: “All of sudden there was this massive huge bang.”

“It was absolutely deafening and all the windows shattered,” he said. “There were just loads of people screaming and the carriages filled with smoke. “You could see the carriage opposite was completely gutted,” he said. “There were some people in real trouble.”

London’s cell phone network was working after the explosions but was overloaded and spotty, limiting communication. The explosions sent stocks plummeting in Europe, with several of the major indexes down 3 percent.

The UK Guardian is live blogging.

The BBC is also talking to survivors.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair vows “Terrorists won’t win”.

Posted by The Skipper     on 07/07/2005 at 06:05 AM   
Filed Under: • International • Terrorists •  
• Comments (22) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner