Location of explosions hampered rescue effort

Published on Tuesday 12 October 2010 18:43

Communications problems meant it took emergency services battling to save lives after the 7/7 bombings up to 15 minutes to send messages back to their control rooms, the inquest heard.

Because their radios did not work underground, paramedics, firefighters and police had to send runners from the stricken Tube trains back to the surface to pass on requests for more help.

In the case of the deep London Underground station at Russell Square, which is linked to ground level by a long spiral surface, this could take a quarter of an hour, the hearing was told.

Hugo Keith QC, counsel to the inquests, also highlighted the lack of a system for the drivers of the devastated Tube trains to communicate with their passengers.

Timothy Batkin, the driver of the train destroyed in the Aldgate bombing, said he could hear people screaming behind him "help us, help", but he was unable to respond.

The inquest has heard that emergency service control rooms were confused about what had happened and where to send help for some time after the initial blasts on the Underground at 8:50am.

Emergency responders were sent to the wrong places, with the first ambulance not arriving at Aldgate until 9:14am because it was initially dispatched to Liverpool Street.

The first fire engine only reached the Edgware Road bombing at 9:18am and the control rooms were not told that Russell Square Tube station had been targeted until 9:13am.

Mr Keith said: "The evidence tends to suggest that the emergency services encountered considerable difficulties in communicating with each other."

He added: "The evidence seems to suggest that all the emergency services, other than the British Transport Police and the City of London Police, had to rely upon individuals running back and forth from the trains to the platforms and from the platforms to the ground level."