Neo Kervoskia
21-07-2005, 16:14
"More blasts hit London transport
Thursday, July 21, 2005; Posted: 11:07 a.m. EDT (15:07 GMT)
story.oval.ap.jpg
Police seal off roads around Oval station in south London.
Image:
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Four "explosion or attempts at explosions" have been reported on three London Underground stations and a bus, two weeks after the July 7 terror attacks, the city's police chief has said.
Scotland Yard also said they were looking into an "incident" at University College London Hospital (UCL), where armed officers have been deployed. Witnesses reported policemen with flak jackets entered the hospital along with dogs.
Sky TV reported that police said they were searching that hospital for a man wearing a blue shirt with wires protuding from a hole in the back.
UCL hospital is near Warren Street station, where police said one of three small devices detonated. The other blasts were reported at Oval and Shepherd's Bush stations.
"
Thursday's blasts came two weeks to the day since bombs on three Tube trains on a bus killed 52 people and four of the bombers.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said the situation following Thursday's blasts was "absolutely under control." He told reporters there had been "one confirmed casualty and that is not a fatality."
"We know that we've had four explosions or attempts at explosions. It is still pretty unclear as to what's happened.
"The bombs appear to be smaller than on the last occasion but we don't know the implications of all this yet and we're going to have to examine the scene very carefully."
Blair urged Londoners to "stay where you are and go about your normal business" for the time being.
At a news conference Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed his relief that there appeared to be no casualties from the blasts and urged people to "react calmly."
He said Londoners should "continue with our business as much as possible as normal."
Amid the massive security alert across the capital, armed police were seen on TV drawing their guns near Blair's official Downing Street residence as they detained a man. There was no indication the man was linked to the blasts.
In the United States the White House said President George W. Bush had been informed of the incidents, news of which first came at 12:38 p.m. (7:38 a.m. ET). At 12:45 p.m., a call came in from Warren Street.
All three stations affected in Thursday's blasts were evacuated and four Tube lines -- Hammersmith & City, Victoria, Northern and Bakerloo -- were closed, according to a spokesperson for Transport for London.
The area around Warren Street station was sealed off while the bomb squad checked for further explosive devices.
ITN reported authorities were pushing people further back from the station and witnesses reported seeing men in chemical suits going down in station.
Police later said after initial checks no trace of chemical agents at Warren Street or Oval stations was found.
Meanwhile in east London, a bus driver reported a "bang" from the top of his double-decker in Hackney, according to the bus company's spokesman.
The spokesman said the windows of the bus were blown out, although this was denied by a police officer at the scene.
"I have seen the bus. There were no windows blown out," the officer told Reuters.
The ambulance service had no details on the Shepherd's Bush station incident.
Bryce Elder, a witness near the Shepherd's Bush station, said there was a heavy police presence but "no real sense of panic."
Police helicopters flew overhead and areas near Shepherd's Bush station were evacuated. Elder said the station was not very busy.
CNN London producer Katie Turner reported a heavy police presence near the Oval station, including about 30 police vehicles. Roads about 500 meters from the station have been blocked off to vehicular traffic, she said.
A woman who was on the train at the Oval station when the incident happened said she didn't hear a bang, but saw people pushing themselves into her carriage.
She said there was a general mood of panic. The train, which was moving when incident happened, was not packed with people, she said.
One explosives expert told CNN the "sour smell" reported by people coming out of the Underground would likely have come from two sources: the rucksack catching fire; and the explosives themselves catching fire after the detonator failed to explode them. The explosives could actually burn and give a toxic smell. "
Thursday, July 21, 2005; Posted: 11:07 a.m. EDT (15:07 GMT)
story.oval.ap.jpg
Police seal off roads around Oval station in south London.
Image:
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Four "explosion or attempts at explosions" have been reported on three London Underground stations and a bus, two weeks after the July 7 terror attacks, the city's police chief has said.
Scotland Yard also said they were looking into an "incident" at University College London Hospital (UCL), where armed officers have been deployed. Witnesses reported policemen with flak jackets entered the hospital along with dogs.
Sky TV reported that police said they were searching that hospital for a man wearing a blue shirt with wires protuding from a hole in the back.
UCL hospital is near Warren Street station, where police said one of three small devices detonated. The other blasts were reported at Oval and Shepherd's Bush stations.
"
Thursday's blasts came two weeks to the day since bombs on three Tube trains on a bus killed 52 people and four of the bombers.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said the situation following Thursday's blasts was "absolutely under control." He told reporters there had been "one confirmed casualty and that is not a fatality."
"We know that we've had four explosions or attempts at explosions. It is still pretty unclear as to what's happened.
"The bombs appear to be smaller than on the last occasion but we don't know the implications of all this yet and we're going to have to examine the scene very carefully."
Blair urged Londoners to "stay where you are and go about your normal business" for the time being.
At a news conference Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed his relief that there appeared to be no casualties from the blasts and urged people to "react calmly."
He said Londoners should "continue with our business as much as possible as normal."
Amid the massive security alert across the capital, armed police were seen on TV drawing their guns near Blair's official Downing Street residence as they detained a man. There was no indication the man was linked to the blasts.
In the United States the White House said President George W. Bush had been informed of the incidents, news of which first came at 12:38 p.m. (7:38 a.m. ET). At 12:45 p.m., a call came in from Warren Street.
All three stations affected in Thursday's blasts were evacuated and four Tube lines -- Hammersmith & City, Victoria, Northern and Bakerloo -- were closed, according to a spokesperson for Transport for London.
The area around Warren Street station was sealed off while the bomb squad checked for further explosive devices.
ITN reported authorities were pushing people further back from the station and witnesses reported seeing men in chemical suits going down in station.
Police later said after initial checks no trace of chemical agents at Warren Street or Oval stations was found.
Meanwhile in east London, a bus driver reported a "bang" from the top of his double-decker in Hackney, according to the bus company's spokesman.
The spokesman said the windows of the bus were blown out, although this was denied by a police officer at the scene.
"I have seen the bus. There were no windows blown out," the officer told Reuters.
The ambulance service had no details on the Shepherd's Bush station incident.
Bryce Elder, a witness near the Shepherd's Bush station, said there was a heavy police presence but "no real sense of panic."
Police helicopters flew overhead and areas near Shepherd's Bush station were evacuated. Elder said the station was not very busy.
CNN London producer Katie Turner reported a heavy police presence near the Oval station, including about 30 police vehicles. Roads about 500 meters from the station have been blocked off to vehicular traffic, she said.
A woman who was on the train at the Oval station when the incident happened said she didn't hear a bang, but saw people pushing themselves into her carriage.
She said there was a general mood of panic. The train, which was moving when incident happened, was not packed with people, she said.
One explosives expert told CNN the "sour smell" reported by people coming out of the Underground would likely have come from two sources: the rucksack catching fire; and the explosives themselves catching fire after the detonator failed to explode them. The explosives could actually burn and give a toxic smell. "