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Bombings in London...
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Given the large number of UK members here on TIG, has anyone got any info as it comes to hand about what's going on?
My radio is reporting a bus has exploded/is in flames in Central London, and that at least three tube stations have been evacuated, with the phrase 'walking wounded' being used in wire reports and on the BBC website.
Anyone know anything else?
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Multiple blasts paralyse London
Firefighters aid an injured passenger at Aldgate station
Large numbers of casualties have been reported after at least six explosions on the Underground network and a double-decker bus in London.
Scotland Yard confirmed one of several reports of explosions on buses in the city - in Tavistock Place - but said the cause was not yet known.
UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke said several explosions in central London had caused "terrible injuries".
All Tube services and bus services in central London have been suspended.
"The health services are in support to deal with the terrible injuries that there have been," Clarke told reporters outside Downing Street.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said there had been at least six explosions, but said the picture was still "very confused".
Scotland Yard said explosions have been reported at Edgware Road, King's Cross, Liverpool Street, Russell Square, Aldgate East and Moorgate.
08:49 police called to Liverpool Street tube station after reports of a bang
Blasts also reported at Aldgate East, Edgware Rd, Kings Cross, Moorgate, Russell Square tube stations
10:14 Reports of blast on bus at Tavistock Square
Number 10 said it was "still unsure" whether the explosions were a terrorist attack and although casualties were reported, no further details were yet available.
Prime Minister Tony Blair is to make a live televised statement on the explosions in London at 1200 BST, Downing Street added.
All London Underground services have been suspended indefinitely and bus services in central London (Zone One) have been halted.
A spokesman for Vodafone said emergency services were being given priority access to the mobile phone network which was causing problems for other users.
One caller to BBC Five said his friend had seen "the bus ripped open like a can of sardines and bodies everywhere".
Loyita Worley, who works for a City law firm, said she was on the underground train when an explosion took place in the next carriage, while it was in a tunnel.
The 49-year-old said: "All the lights went out and the train came to an immediate halt. There was smoke everywhere and everyone was coughing and choking, but remained calm. We couldn't open the doors."
Once the doors were opened they were taken along to Liverpool Street station.
She said the carriage where an explosion happened was "black on the inside" she saw people who appeared to have their clothes blown off, and she saw bodies lying inside the carriage.
And the Press Association quoted union officials as saying sources had told them there had been at least one explosive device on the Underground.
There was immediately smoke everywhere and it was hot and everybody panicked. People started screaming and crying
Jacqui Head
BBC News
Bus 'ripped apart' in explosion
Have you been affected?
British Transport Police said incidents took place at Aldgate, Edgware Road, King's Cross, Old Street and Russell Square stations.
Scotland Yard confirmed they were assisting with a "major incident" and said there were casualties.
Hospitals have said they are no longer accepting non-emergency cases, BBC Five Live reported.
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.
Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes, near Kings Cross, told Five Live: "My only thought in the midst of all this confusion is that after the celebration of yesterday (for the Olympic 2012 London success) for people to be evil enough - if it is the intentional causing of death and injury - and think that they can justify this in any circumstances is completely unacceptable."
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.
"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."
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It is now 13.00 and they've found traces of explosives....
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As camera's and eyewitnesses are kept from a distance and live footage shows very little of the damage, BBC reports that it has been a coordinated attack from AL Qaeda...
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So it's all very well to read the media reports, but what are Londoners thinking right now?
Has anyone got any first-hand accounts?
What's it like on the streets of London right now?
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Confusion
Everyone is clearly afraid and desperate to get in contact with loved ones. London is a commuter city with most people coming in from surrroung towns. Therefore people have no idea how they are going to get home tonight with the London Underground closed.
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Very British
There's something extremely British in the reaction of most. People aren't panicking as much as you would expect and people are trying to get on with life. The scene on the street below looks entirely normal.
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A long night ahead
Contingency plans are now being put together to allow people to sleep in the office.
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further details on London blasts
I'm a Londoner but (thankfully) in a town outside London right now.
There has been confirmed attacks on trains and buses. The police are reporting seven attacks, the Home Secretary has right now confirmed four attacks. All train and bus networks in London have been closed. Tony Blair is leaving the G8 to return to London. And no - nobody is reporting this as being Al Qaeda, although it is one possibility. There have been two confirmed deaths and "tens not hundreds" of casualties.
I suspect that the cell phone network in central London hasn't "crashed" but has been disabled as police suspect that mobile phones were used to detonate bombs, as was the case in Madrid.
Everyone here is being typically British and calm.
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The possibility of Al Qaeda
Al Qaeda is the buzz word here. There is a feeling that there are parallels between this and the Madrid bombing and the bombing of the two embassies in East Africa a few years back.
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Al Qaeda have claimed responsibility
BBC monitoring services have located a website linked to Al Qaeda with a 200-word statement saying it carried out the bombings
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Scene from the ground
So we (Alex and I) were walking just near the explosions and everyone is a bit rattled. Alex lives right beside the doubledecker bus bomb and close to the Russell Square tube bombs. From what I hear, there were 6 tube station bombs and one bus. Only 2 reported fatalities but numerous injuries and I'm sure the count will rise as more info comes. Just hope it didn't hit too many people directly. Scary world indeed...
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Unbelievable
After 9/11 we've all known in England that we were at risk. That doesn't make it any easier to believe what's going on.
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Heya guys,
Just to let you know that the rest of the world is behind you!
We've got BBC feed going on here in NZ which is good caus I have a huge number of friends in London who I'm having problems getting hold of and it's good knowing whats happening.
nick - good to hear you're not hurt, hope the same for alberto
how many people seem to have been affected?
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12 dead
But the numebr is growing with every new news item.
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It was a shock to hear about the bombings this morning. As a proud Londoner, I feel very angry that these ignorant people brought terrorism back to the streets of London. It's also a bizarre feeling after yesterday's elation which followed the IOC's announcement that London will host the 2012 Olympics.
Londoners have dealt with terrorism before, in the form of the IRA, in which over a prolonged period we suffered many injuries and deaths (alongside other UK cities, such as Manchester). There may be a different face behind these bombings but it's terrorism all the same; destructive, pointless and stupid. But in the end it will bring Londoners together and make us more proud of the city which we believe is the greatest. This is not going to change British Foreign Policy, as much as the terrorists would like it to - and nor will it change the outcomes of the G8 Summit this week; all this is is an attack on the innocent people who were hurt. My thoughts are with the families of those who died, and I hope that I don't hear of any of my friends/relatives being hurt.
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33 confirmed dead
and number rising
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