Thursday, July 7, 2005; Posted: 5:38 a.m. EDT (09:38 GMT)
LONDON, England -- A bus was ripped apart in an explosion in central London today and several blasts rocked the Tube network leaving dozens of people injured.
The Tube blasts at the height of the rush hour on Thursday were initially blamed on a power surge.
But amid the chaos eyewitnesses reported that a packed double decker bus in the Russell Square area had been severely damaged in a blast.
Union officials blamed the Tube blasts on a series of bombs, and Scotland Yard confirmed the bus explosion and said it was dealing with "multiple explosions" in London.
A second bus was reported to have been damaged in Tavistock Square.
Describing the Russell Square blast, eyewitness Belinda Seabrook told the UK Press Association she saw an explosion rip through the bus as it approached the 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.
She said the bus was travelling from Euston to Russell Square and had been "packed" with people turned away from Tube stops.
Travellers emerged from underground tunnels covered in blood and soot. Scotland Yard declared the emergency a "major incident."
Emergency services were called to London's Liverpool Street Station after reports of an explosion shortly before 9 a.m.
A short while later, London Underground said there had been "another incident at Edgware Road" station in north west London.
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."
Police told the UK Press Association there were "walking wounded" and said paramedics had 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.
The incident caused major disruption to the entire network with stations across the capital being closed.
Passengers were told that all services were being suspended because of a power fault across the network.
A City of London Police spokesman said: "We have closed Liverpool Street station as well as Aldgate.
"We believe there was some sort of explosion. There are some walking wounded at Aldgate. "We are not sure of the scale of the incident. Reports are still coming in."
another report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4659093.stm>
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