Terror rocks London again
22 injured in U.K’s bucket bomb attack
London, Sept. 15: A home-made bomb on a packed rush-hour commuter train in London engulfed a carriage in flames and injured 22 people on Friday in what police said was Britain’s fifth terrorism incident this year, but apparently failed to fully explode.
Passengers on board a train heading into the capital fled in panic as the fire erupted at Parsons Green underground station in West London at 8.20 a.m. (0720 GMT).
Some suffered burns while others were injured in a stampede to escape.
The National Health Service said 22 people had been taken to London hospitals, most believed to be suffering flash burns. None were thought to be in a serious condition, the ambulance service said.
Pictures taken at the scene showed a slightly-charred white bucket with a supermarket freezer bag on the floor of one train carriage. The bucket, still intact, was in flames and there appeared to be wires coming out of the top.
“I was on second carriage from the back. I just heard a kind of whoosh. I looked up and saw the whole carriage engulfed in flames making its way towards me,” Ola Fayankinnu, who was on the train, told Reuters.
Twitter user @Rrigs, who posted pictures of a white bucket smouldering on the train, said a “Fireball flew down carriage and we just jumped out open door”.
Later, British Prime Minister Theresa May rebuked US President Donald Trump over his tweets about the London train terror attack on Friday and said that the bomb was designed to cause “significant damage”.
“I never think it’s helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation,” Ms May told journalists.
London, Sept. 15: A loud bang followed by a “wall of fire” broke the calm of a quiet part of London on Friday when a bomb went off on an Underground train, burning commuters who stampeded out of the station.
Local resident Charlie Craven was heading to Parsons Green station in west London on his way to work when he heard a “massive bang” as the device detonated. “The first thing I saw was an orange sort of fireball encompassing the whole Tube”, he said, his hands still shaking.
“Bit like you see on 24, the TV show, or a movie sort of situation,” said Mr Craven, who works in the City, London’s financial centre.
Lauren Hubbard also heard the explosion and said she saw that a “wall of fire was just coming towards us”.
“It’s hard to explain because it happens in an instant and you run. There were people in it of course, this fireball is just going over your head and everybody’s screaming and you just run out of the tube as quick as you can,” she said.
The bucket looked like the type used by builders and there appeared to be cables coming out of it.
Twenty-two people were injured in the attack —most with flash burns, according to police. Others were injured in the stampede during chaotic scenes at the station. “We were very, very lucky,” said Sally Faulding, a 51-yearold teacher who was on her way to work.
Louis Hather, 21, was travelling three carriages along from where the explosion took place. “People were being trampled on. I tried to get out of the way but I could feel myself getting pushed down the stairs,” he said.
The explosion took place just as the train pulled into the station, she said, so “the doors opened automatically and everybody got out”.
Emma Stevie, 27, who was caught in the stampede said: “I heard lots of screams and people saying ‘run, run’. We got out and then there was a human stampede, down the stairs.”
British police said no one has been arrested in connection with the bombing, but hundreds of detectives are at work trying to hunt down the perpetrator or perpetrators.
The Metropolitan Police said police “are making fast-time inquiries to establish who was responsible and are working closely with the security services.” — AFP