Passengers tell of bodies on tracks

Published on Thursday 7 July 2005 13:56

TUBE and bus passengers told of their horror as the terrifying explosions rocked London's transport network today.

Police sealed off several streets around Aldgate East Station, where one of the explosions took place, and instructed people to clear the road as ambulance paramedics brought out the casualties.

Commuters reported seeing bodies lying on the track after a blast ripped apart one train carriage, leaving smoke billowing from the wreckage.

Scores of police and fire engines also filled Edgware Road in the city as shocked passengers left the scene of another blast. One commuter on the train which exploded said he saw several bodies in the wreckage.

Terry O'Shea, 42, a construction worker from Worcester, wept as he spoke of the carnage he witnessed. He said: "I was in the third carriage, the one behind the one where the explosion was.

"There was a loud bang and we felt the train shudder. Then smoke started coming into the compartment. It was terrible.

"People were panicking, but they calmed down after one or two minutes. As they led us down the track past the carriage where the explosion was, we could see the roof was torn off it, and there were bodies on the track."

Jack Linton, 14, from Hawkwell, Essex, suffered cuts to his face in the incident. He said: "There was a massive explosion, smoke and flames. My carriage must have been two away from where it was.

"Everybody got on the floor. Eventually, the smoke cleared and we managed to open the central doors down the train before they walked us along the track past the train to the station.

"The middle of the train was blown out and there were people on the track.

"I've got glass in my hair and my pockets and my ear hurts."

Arash Kazerouni, 22, spoke of his fear outside the Aldgate station after his train stopped suddenly following the blast. He said: "There was a loud bang and the train ground to a halt. People started panicking, screaming and crying as smoke came into the carriage.

"A man told everyone to be calm and we were led to safety along the track.

"Everyone was terrified when it happened. When they led us to safety, I went past the carriage where I think the explosion was. It was the second one from the front.

"The metal was all blown outwards and there were people inside being helped by paramedics.

"One guy was being tended outside on the track. His clothes were torn off and he seemed pretty badly burned.

He added: "This whole thing teaches you, appreciate your life, you don't know what's round the corner."

Sarah Reid, 23, a student, was on the carriage next door to the one which was struck by the explosion.

Speaking after the ordeal, having been led out down the track, near Liverpool Street station, she told how she saw a carriage ripped apart with the roof blown off.

"I think some people may have died," she said.

Police and fire engines flooded on to Edgware Road as dazed passengers left the scene of one of the blasts.

Simon Corvett, 26, from Oxford, was on the eastbound train leaving Edgware Road Tube station when the explosion happened.

He said: "All of sudden there was this massive, huge bang. It was absolutely deafening and all the windows shattered.

"The glass did not actually fall out of the windows, it just cracked.The train came to a grinding halt, everyone fell off their seats."

Mr Corvett, who works in public relations, said the commuter train was absolutely packed.

"There were just loads of people screaming and the carriages filled with smoke," he said. "You couldn't really breathe and you couldn't see what was happening. The driver came on the Tannoy and said 'We have got a problem, don't panic'."

Mr Corvett, whose face was covered in soot, joined other passengers to force open the train doors with a fire extinguisher. He said the carriage on the other track was destroyed.

"You could see the carriage opposite was completely gutted," he added. "There were some people in real trouble."

The area around Edgware Road Station was completely cordoned off as walking wounded emerged from the scene.

The injured were taken into the Hilton London Metropole opposite the station where they were treated by ambulance crews.

Kelly Maher, a 28-year-old PA who escaped the blast, told how she had been trapped in her carriage for around 25-minutes before being evacuated.

"I didn't really get upset until I managed to get out of our carriage and looked down the track and saw the carriage opposite," she said.

"It was completely destroyed and there was smoke everywhere - thank God there wasn't a fire as people would have been trapped."

Simon Tonkyn, a 51-year-old IT manager was on his way from Paddington to Aldgate when the blast occurred.

"There was just an enormous bang and a lot of smoke," he said.

"A group of us got fire extinguishers and were able to smash through the carriage door and I now just feel totally numb."

Witnesses have also described the moment a bus exploded in central London.

One middle-aged man said: "I was on the bus. I looked round and the seats behind me were gone."

Bystander Raj Mattoo, 35, was standing on a corner when the bus exploded nearby. He said: "The explosion seemed to be at the back of the bus. The roof flew off and went up about 10 metres. It then floated back down.

"I shouted at the passengers to get off the bus. They went into Tavistock Park nearby.

"There were obviously people badly injured. A parking attendant said he thought a piece of human flesh had landed on his arm."

The bomb near Russell Square rocked the Tavistock Hotel.

Receptionist Sam Elliott said: "People were running in, some obviously injured.

"One man was being carried by other passengers. We just did not know what had happened."