Several hurt in terrorist incident on London Tube
LONDON : Scotland Yard declared an explosion on the District Line of London’s Tube network on Friday, which injured several passengers and hit the morning rush hour, a terror incident.
The blast in a white canister at Parson Green Station in southwest London caused burn injuries to some passengers. Twentytwo people were hospitalised after the incident, which was reminiscent of the July 7, 2005 bombings in the city.
The police said its CounterTerrorism Command was investigating the incident.
Parsons Green is one of the surface stations of London’s underground network.
“Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the senior national coordinator for CT policing, has declared it a terrorist incident,” Scotland Yard said.
Police were called at approximately 8.20 am local time to the underground station following reports of a fire on a train, the statement added.
The station remained cordoned off and people were advised to avoid the area.
Police said a hunt involving hundreds of detectives backed by the intelligence services was underway to find the perpetrators. Britain’s top counter-terrorism officer, Mark Rowley, declined to say if the suspected bomber had been on the train, saying it was a live investigation.
Britain’s threat level remained at its second-highest rank of severe following the “cowardly attack” intended to cause significant harm, said Prime Minister Theresa May. But she added the threat level would be kept under review. In the wake of the blast, there was a stampede at the station as people rushed to move out. The London Ambulance Service said several resources had been devoted to the incident.
Ordnance factory personnel were at the scene to investigate the blast. The District Line was closed between Earl’s Court and Wimbledon, with severe delays on the rest of the busy line.
Britain has already suffered five terror attacks this year which killed 36 people.