Twenty years ago today London experienced its worst terror attack, an event that left 52 dead and many more injured.
On that day details that emerged were sketchy with news outlets unable to report what was occurring on the morning of the 7th of July 2005.
For those with connections with the emergency services, it was clear that something terrible had occurred as early as 9:30 am [BST], less than 40 minutes after the first blast. This blog reported that there had been a major incident having occurred in London's underground system with explosions reported in Liverpool Street, Aldgate East and Edgware Road stations soon after events began to unfold [tvnewswatch]. The three tube explosions had in fact occurred at 8:49 am within 50 seconds of each other.
At 10:00 am news outlets were reporting that the chaos reported on the London Underground was as a result of a number of 'power surge incidents'.
However, I had learned from police sources as early as 09:46 am [BST] that the incidents were due to explosions and there were multiple casualties, and that the fire brigade were outside Edgware Road underground station where a bomb was believed to have exploded. Meanwhile all underground services had been suspended. It was clear from my sources that there was an ongoing terror attack. That said, even the police on the ground were confused and details concerning the nature of the event and the number of key locations were yet to be clearly established.
On that day details that emerged were sketchy with news outlets unable to report what was occurring on the morning of the 7th of July 2005.
For those with connections with the emergency services, it was clear that something terrible had occurred as early as 9:30 am [BST], less than 40 minutes after the first blast. This blog reported that there had been a major incident having occurred in London's underground system with explosions reported in Liverpool Street, Aldgate East and Edgware Road stations soon after events began to unfold [tvnewswatch]. The three tube explosions had in fact occurred at 8:49 am within 50 seconds of each other.
At 10:00 am news outlets were reporting that the chaos reported on the London Underground was as a result of a number of 'power surge incidents'.
However, I had learned from police sources as early as 09:46 am [BST] that the incidents were due to explosions and there were multiple casualties, and that the fire brigade were outside Edgware Road underground station where a bomb was believed to have exploded. Meanwhile all underground services had been suspended. It was clear from my sources that there was an ongoing terror attack. That said, even the police on the ground were confused and details concerning the nature of the event and the number of key locations were yet to be clearly established.
Even as the reports of a bus having exploded at 09:49 [BST] emerged, police were initially under the impression that it was another explosion at the Underground Station. But at 09:53 am [BST] it was confirmed that a bus had exploded leaving multiple casualties [tvnewswatch].
By 10:20 am [BST] many news outlets had woken up to the unfolding seriousness of the incident. Sky News, ITN and the BBC were however still reporting the explosions as being caused by 'electrical surges'. The BBC had no cameras on the ground nor did the ITN news channel. Sky News were using a helicopter but were confined to an area around Aldgate East.
Meanwhile, police were in the process of blocking all routes into and out of central London.
It was only at 11:24, and as images of a wrecked bus near Edgware Road began to emerge, that the police confirmed 'multiple explosions' around London.
By 13:00 BST, the then Home Secretary Charles Clarke made a statement in the House of Commons, saying that there had been four explosions; one on a tube train between Aldgate East and Liverpool St stations, another on a bus in Woburn Place and also Russell Square, though in fact there had been only one explosion on a bus in Russell Square. A further explosion was also confirmed at Edgware Rd. The Prime Minister said the attacks were 'barbaric' and will be returning to London from the G8 summit.
In the coming hours London was effectively shut down. Workers were forced to walk long distances in order to escape the capital since the entire Underground was shut. Some mainline trains were running and traffic in and around London became gridlocked as buses and private cars conveyed people home.
The attacks came at a time when there was little or no social media. There was no Twitter. Smartphones did not exist. And even 24 hour rolling news was still in its infancy with only CNN and Sky News dominating the scene. Signs on the motorways told motorists to avoid London and to turn on the radio. Without the radio and TV people were essentially in the dark.
For many the 7/7 attacks are a distant memory. For some, they are still living with the pain or loss of loved ones [Wikipedia].
tvnewswatch, London, UK
By 10:20 am [BST] many news outlets had woken up to the unfolding seriousness of the incident. Sky News, ITN and the BBC were however still reporting the explosions as being caused by 'electrical surges'. The BBC had no cameras on the ground nor did the ITN news channel. Sky News were using a helicopter but were confined to an area around Aldgate East.
Meanwhile, police were in the process of blocking all routes into and out of central London.
It was only at 11:24, and as images of a wrecked bus near Edgware Road began to emerge, that the police confirmed 'multiple explosions' around London.
By 13:00 BST, the then Home Secretary Charles Clarke made a statement in the House of Commons, saying that there had been four explosions; one on a tube train between Aldgate East and Liverpool St stations, another on a bus in Woburn Place and also Russell Square, though in fact there had been only one explosion on a bus in Russell Square. A further explosion was also confirmed at Edgware Rd. The Prime Minister said the attacks were 'barbaric' and will be returning to London from the G8 summit.
In the coming hours London was effectively shut down. Workers were forced to walk long distances in order to escape the capital since the entire Underground was shut. Some mainline trains were running and traffic in and around London became gridlocked as buses and private cars conveyed people home.
The attacks came at a time when there was little or no social media. There was no Twitter. Smartphones did not exist. And even 24 hour rolling news was still in its infancy with only CNN and Sky News dominating the scene. Signs on the motorways told motorists to avoid London and to turn on the radio. Without the radio and TV people were essentially in the dark.
For many the 7/7 attacks are a distant memory. For some, they are still living with the pain or loss of loved ones [Wikipedia].
tvnewswatch, London, UK