Post by Captain Benjamin Maxwell on Jul 7, 2005 7:42:03 GMT -5
Multiple blasts hit London transport system
As many as seven explosions in London's transport system have killed at least thirty-three people and wounded dozens more in what UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said was an apparent terrorist attack. Explosions shut down subway, buses, paralyzing capital; 37 deaths confirmed.
BREAKING NEWS
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 8:04 a.m. ET July 7, 2005
NOTE: This is a developing story and details will be added as they become available.
LONDON - Near simultaneous explosions rocked the London subway and tore open a double-decker bus during the morning rush hour Thursday, causing at least thirty-seven deaths and an estimated 1000 injuries in what Prime Minister Tony Blair said was a "barbaric" terrorist attack timed to disrupt the Group of Eight summit.
At least four blasts rocked the London subway and tore open a packed double-decker bus during the morning during rush hour Thursday, sending bloodied victims fleeing in the worst attack on London since World War II.
Thirty-seven people were confirmed killed, and more than 700 were wounded in the terror attacks, which a shaken Prime Minister Tony Blair called “barbaric” and blamed on Islamic militants.
“We know that these people act in the name of Islam, but we also know that the vast and overwhelming majority of Muslims both here and abroad are decent and law abiding people who abhor this kind of terrorism every bit as much as we do,” Blair said.
Witnesses described horrific scenes. “It was chaos,” said Gary Lewis, who was evacuated from a subway train at King’s Cross station. “The one haunting image was someone whose face was totally black and pouring with blood.”
The blasts coincided with the Group of Eight summit in Scotland and came a day after London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics.
A group calling itself The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe claimed responsibility but officials could not verify the claim and no arrests have been made.
Blair did not provide specifics about who was responsible, but British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the bombings have the “hallmarks of an al-Qaida-related attack.”
'Remain vigilant'
The four explosions went off within an hour, beginning at 8:51 a.m. local time, and hit three subway stations and the double-decker bus. Authorities immediately shut down the subway and bus lines that log 8.4 million passenger trips every weekday.
The bus explosion seemed to go off at the back, said bystander Raj Mattoo. “The roof flew off and went up about 10 meters (30 feet). It then floated back down,” he said. “There were obviously people badly injured. A parking attendant said he thought a piece of human flesh had landed on his arm.”
As the city’s transportation system ground to a near-halt, buses were used as ambulances and an emergency medical station was set up at a hotel. Rescue workers, police and ordinary citizens streamed into the streets to help.
Doctors from the nearby British Medical Association rushed into the street to treat the wounded from the bus. “The front of BMA house was completely splattered with blood and not much of the bus was left,” said Dr. Laurence Buckman.
Some central London streets emptied of traffic. Groups of commuters who had been on their way to work gathered around corner shops with televisions, watching in silence. The mood was somber and subdued.
"The public need to remain vigilant," Andy Trotter of the Transport Police said. "This is an incredibly challenging time for London. We don't know if this is over yet."
At the request of Queen Elizabeth II, the Union Jack flag flying over Buckingham Palace was lowered to half staff.
'We shall prevail'
Blair, flanked by fellow G-8 leaders, including President Bush, read a statement from the leaders. “We shall prevail and they shall not,” he said.
“Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilized nations throughout the world,” he said earlier.
He departed by helicopter back to London. The world leaders continued meeting but their agenda got sidetracked and they decided to delay declarations on climate change and the global economy.
Bush warned Americans to be “extra vigilant,” and his administration raised the terror alert for mass transit a notch to code orange. Security also was stepped up in the U.S. Capitol and in train and bus stations around the country.
Much of Europe also went on alert. Italy’s airports raised alert levels to a maximum. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, the Netherlands, France and Spain also announced beefed-up security at shopping centers, airports, railways and subways.
Claim of responsibility
A group calling itself “The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe” posted a claim of responsibility, saying the blasts were in retaliation for Britain’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The statement also threatened attacks in Italy and Denmark, both of which have troops in Iraq. It was published on a Web site popular with Islamic militants, and the text was republished on Elaph, a secular Arabic-language news Web site, and Berlin’s Der Spiegel magazine.
The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately confirmed, but terrorism experts said the coordinated explosions had the trademarks of the al-Qaida network.
“This is clearly an al-Qaida style attack. It was well-coordinated, it was timed for a political event and it was a multiple attack on a transportation system at rush hour,” said Lawrence Freedman, professor of war studies at King’s College in London.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick said there had been no arrests, and it was unclear whether suicide bombers were involved.
Asked about the claim of responsibility, Paddick said: “We will be looking at that ... at the moment we don’t know if that’s a legitimate claim or not.” He added British officials had received no prior warning nor did they have any advance intelligence that the attacks would occur.
The attacks recalled the 2004 train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 and were blamed on al-Qaida.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission warned London Muslims to stay at home to avoid any violence aimed at them.
Casualty numbers
Three U.S. law enforcement officials said at least 40 people were killed. They spoke on condition of anonymity and said they learned of the number from their British counterparts.
In London, Paddick said at least 33 people killed in the subway system alone. He confirmed other deaths on the bus but gave no figures. The death toll was later raised to 37.
Buckman, the London doctor, said ambulance staff told him about 10 people died in the bus blast. BMA doctors treated about nine seriously wounded people in the building's courtyard, two of whom later died, he said.
Police put the number of wounded at more than 700, nearly double early reports. Among them, at least 45 were in serious or critical condition, including amputations, fractures and burns, said Russell Smith of London Ambulance Service.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone said the blasts were “mass murder” carried out by terrorists bent on “indiscriminate ... slaughter.”
“This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty or the powerful ... it was aimed at ordinary working-class Londoners,” said Livingstone, in Singapore where he supported London’s Olympic bid. Giselle Davies, an International Olympic Committee spokeswoman, said the committee still had “full confidence” in London.
Timeline of attacks
Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Brian Paddick said the first explosion, at 8:51 a.m. local time, hit a London Underground train that was 100 yards into a tunnel outside Moorgate station in the financial district in east London. Seven people died there, he said.
The second blast, at 8:56 a.m., was in the King's Cross station area of north London, and killed 21, Paddick said.
The third explosion, at 9:17 a.m., was near the Edgware station and killed seven people.
The bus explosion occurred at 9:47 a.m. At least two people were killed there.
Jay Kumar, a business owner near the site of the bus blast at Tavistock Square in central London, said he ran out of his shop when he heard a loud explosion. He said the bus’s top deck collapsed, sending people tumbling to the floor.
Many appeared badly injured, and bloodied people ran from the scene. “People were running this way panicked," he said. "They knew it was a bomb. Debris flying all over, mostly glass.”
Office worker Kibir Chibber said at one subway station that “I saw lots of people coming out covered in blood and soot. Black smoke was coming from the station. I saw several people laid out on sheets.”
Simon Corvett, on an eastbound train from Edgware Road station, described “this massive huge bang ... It was absolutely deafening and all the windows shattered.”
“You could see the carriage opposite was completely gutted,” he said. “There were some people in real trouble.”
Evening commute a mess
British Home Secretary Charles Clarke said efforts would be made to resume underground and bus operations as soon as possible but gave no indication of when that might be.
“People are strongly advised not to travel into central London as the emergency services must be allowed to do their work in the most effective way they can,” he said.
Most of the transit system still had not restarted by the evening rush hour, forcing tens of thousands to find alternative ways home.
Thomas Carr, a 63-year-old electrician who faced a two-hour walk home, said he would keep using the underground.
"It won't put me off using the Tube," he said. "You can't let them beat you."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
London rocked by explosions
Blair says he suspects terrorists are responsible
Thursday, July 7, 2005; Posted: 8:27 a.m. EDT (12:27 GMT)
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Seven explosions in London's transport system have killed at least thirty three people and wounded dozens more in what UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said was an apparent terrorist attack.
More fatalities were sure to follow -- emergency services personnel told CNN that a rescue operation at Kings Cross station had successfully evacuated all survivors, leaving dead below ground "in the double digits."
One worker said he had removed "several" bodies from the train and "at least 13" remained there. The fire brigade has now left the station, he said, and it was now a crime scene.
Three of the blasts took place in the city's subway system and one more hit a double-decker bus, all at the height of rush hour.
A previously unknown group calling itself the "Secret Organization group of al-Qaeda of Jihad in Europe" released a statement claiming responsibility for the bombings.
CNN could not confirm the authenticity of the statement, which was posted on a web site connected to Islamic radicals.
International SOS, an international medical emergency service, reported that the police had found explosive traces in at least one of four confirmed blast locations.
Hospital officials have reported at least 300 wounded. London transit officials shut down the entire Underground and stopped buses in the central city district.
"We are dealing with large numbers of casualties," he said, "and we believe a number of fatalities."
Flanked by the somber leaders of the world's eight largest industrial nations at the G8 summit in Scotland, Blair said: "We condemn utterly these barbaric attacks. We send our profound condolences to the victims and their families.
"All of our countries have suffered from the impact of terrorism. Those responsible have no respect for human life. We are united in our resolve to confront and defeat this terrorism that is not an attack on one nation, but all nations and on civilized people everywhere."
Blair told reporters he would leave the summit for a "face to face" report in London and then return later in the evening.
A White House spokesman said U.S. President George W. Bush was aware of the explosions and had been in briefings with Blair all morning.
Despite calls from officials to stay home, however, Londoners were on the streets except in areas where they were barred by police.
Police cordoned off areas around six stations in and around the city's center and financial area and brought in sniffer dogs to check the areas.
Telephone traffic -- particularly by cell phone -- was nearly impossible. London's largest cellular provider, Vodafone, said it had devoted much of its network to emergency services, causing the problems with subscribers.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone said the blasts were "mass murder" carried out by terrorists bent on "indiscriminate ... slaughter."
Livingstone, in Singapore where he supported London's successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics, said: "I want to say one thing: This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty or the powerful, it is not aimed at presidents or prime ministers, it was aimed at ordinary working-class Londoners."
One man, with blood streaming down the left side of his face from a wound on his temple, said he didn't "want to live through it again."
"I was in the front carriage and people were severely injured there," he said, dispassionately, adding that his train had been in the tunnel between Kings Cross and Russell Square. "I heard, but I don't know, that people were hurt worse further back. "Some people were very calm, others very panicky."
"There was a very loud bang, the lights went out, the carriage filled with smoke," he said. "We were all thrown forward."
Another man, clearly shaken by his experience, described being on a smoke-filled carriage on the same train, he and his fellow passengers afraid to try to leave the train.
"We were all trapped like sardines waiting to die," said Angelo Power. "I honestly thought I was going to die, as did everyone else."
Jarvis Medhurst told CNN: "I was working at the Tavistock Hotel and a bus exploded literally 40 meters away from me. There was a massive explosion and a cloud of smoke, and then when the smoke stated to die down, you could see the wrecked bus, which was on fire.
"There were bodies everywhere. Heads and bits of bodies, heads and arms and legs all ripped away.
"There seemed to be kids lying around as well as adults. I'm just in shock, it's something I'll never forget."
A police spokesman urged Londoners to "stay where you are."
"There's no way to travel around London at the moment," he said.
"There is a London emergency plan," he said. "It has been put into effect. It is being coordinated by the Metropolitan Police, and that's about all I can say at the moment."
Scotland Yard sent out a notice saying that "public transport in London will be affected in the next few days."
Claire Burroughs, spokeswoman for St Mary's Hospital in central London, told CNN the hospital was on "major incident alert." Four patients were critically injured, eight were seriously injured and 14 others were being treated for minor injuries, she said.
"The types of injuries we are seeing include limb damage, burns, cuts, breaks, head injuries and chest problems due to smoke inhalation," Burroughs said.
London Hospital said it received 95 patients, most with minor injuries. Ten, however were listed in serious condition and seven in critical condition as well as "numerous with significant orthopedic injuries requiring immediate surgery."
CNN cameraman Oran O'Reilly said he has seen seven of the city's famed double-decker buses as well as police cars and ambulances arriving with casualties.
Another hospital told CNN it had taken in 40 wounded.
British Home Secretary Charles Clarke said the explosions took place between Russell Square and Kings Cross Underground; near the Moorgate, Aldgate and Liverpool Street stations Underground; and the Edgware Road station.
The fourth explosion on a bus just outside Tavistock Hotel.
London Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police and London's fire brigade are investigating, according to Scotland Yard.
O'Reilly, who was at Aldgate station, saw passengers coming out of it with signs of smoke inhalation -- black smudges around their mouths and noses.
"They're pushing people away from the tube (train) station," O'Reilly said. "Police are telling us to evacuate the street."
Also at Aldgate, CNN producer Roger Clark said he had seen people with blood running down their faces, with many others looking stunned.
An eyewitness who was on a train told Clark the car in front of him exploded and then the the train tunnel filed with smoke.
Separately, the London Fire Service said it was responding to a report of an explosion on a bus at Russell Square. Chamberlin heard a loud explosion in central London. Witnesses told him they saw a heavily damaged double-decker bus.
As many as seven explosions in London's transport system have killed at least thirty-three people and wounded dozens more in what UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said was an apparent terrorist attack. Explosions shut down subway, buses, paralyzing capital; 37 deaths confirmed.
BREAKING NEWS
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 8:04 a.m. ET July 7, 2005
NOTE: This is a developing story and details will be added as they become available.
LONDON - Near simultaneous explosions rocked the London subway and tore open a double-decker bus during the morning rush hour Thursday, causing at least thirty-seven deaths and an estimated 1000 injuries in what Prime Minister Tony Blair said was a "barbaric" terrorist attack timed to disrupt the Group of Eight summit.
At least four blasts rocked the London subway and tore open a packed double-decker bus during the morning during rush hour Thursday, sending bloodied victims fleeing in the worst attack on London since World War II.
Thirty-seven people were confirmed killed, and more than 700 were wounded in the terror attacks, which a shaken Prime Minister Tony Blair called “barbaric” and blamed on Islamic militants.
“We know that these people act in the name of Islam, but we also know that the vast and overwhelming majority of Muslims both here and abroad are decent and law abiding people who abhor this kind of terrorism every bit as much as we do,” Blair said.
Witnesses described horrific scenes. “It was chaos,” said Gary Lewis, who was evacuated from a subway train at King’s Cross station. “The one haunting image was someone whose face was totally black and pouring with blood.”
The blasts coincided with the Group of Eight summit in Scotland and came a day after London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics.
A group calling itself The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe claimed responsibility but officials could not verify the claim and no arrests have been made.
Blair did not provide specifics about who was responsible, but British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the bombings have the “hallmarks of an al-Qaida-related attack.”
'Remain vigilant'
The four explosions went off within an hour, beginning at 8:51 a.m. local time, and hit three subway stations and the double-decker bus. Authorities immediately shut down the subway and bus lines that log 8.4 million passenger trips every weekday.
The bus explosion seemed to go off at the back, said bystander Raj Mattoo. “The roof flew off and went up about 10 meters (30 feet). It then floated back down,” he said. “There were obviously people badly injured. A parking attendant said he thought a piece of human flesh had landed on his arm.”
As the city’s transportation system ground to a near-halt, buses were used as ambulances and an emergency medical station was set up at a hotel. Rescue workers, police and ordinary citizens streamed into the streets to help.
Doctors from the nearby British Medical Association rushed into the street to treat the wounded from the bus. “The front of BMA house was completely splattered with blood and not much of the bus was left,” said Dr. Laurence Buckman.
Some central London streets emptied of traffic. Groups of commuters who had been on their way to work gathered around corner shops with televisions, watching in silence. The mood was somber and subdued.
"The public need to remain vigilant," Andy Trotter of the Transport Police said. "This is an incredibly challenging time for London. We don't know if this is over yet."
At the request of Queen Elizabeth II, the Union Jack flag flying over Buckingham Palace was lowered to half staff.
'We shall prevail'
Blair, flanked by fellow G-8 leaders, including President Bush, read a statement from the leaders. “We shall prevail and they shall not,” he said.
“Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilized nations throughout the world,” he said earlier.
He departed by helicopter back to London. The world leaders continued meeting but their agenda got sidetracked and they decided to delay declarations on climate change and the global economy.
Bush warned Americans to be “extra vigilant,” and his administration raised the terror alert for mass transit a notch to code orange. Security also was stepped up in the U.S. Capitol and in train and bus stations around the country.
Much of Europe also went on alert. Italy’s airports raised alert levels to a maximum. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, the Netherlands, France and Spain also announced beefed-up security at shopping centers, airports, railways and subways.
Claim of responsibility
A group calling itself “The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe” posted a claim of responsibility, saying the blasts were in retaliation for Britain’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The statement also threatened attacks in Italy and Denmark, both of which have troops in Iraq. It was published on a Web site popular with Islamic militants, and the text was republished on Elaph, a secular Arabic-language news Web site, and Berlin’s Der Spiegel magazine.
The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately confirmed, but terrorism experts said the coordinated explosions had the trademarks of the al-Qaida network.
“This is clearly an al-Qaida style attack. It was well-coordinated, it was timed for a political event and it was a multiple attack on a transportation system at rush hour,” said Lawrence Freedman, professor of war studies at King’s College in London.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick said there had been no arrests, and it was unclear whether suicide bombers were involved.
Asked about the claim of responsibility, Paddick said: “We will be looking at that ... at the moment we don’t know if that’s a legitimate claim or not.” He added British officials had received no prior warning nor did they have any advance intelligence that the attacks would occur.
The attacks recalled the 2004 train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 and were blamed on al-Qaida.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission warned London Muslims to stay at home to avoid any violence aimed at them.
Casualty numbers
Three U.S. law enforcement officials said at least 40 people were killed. They spoke on condition of anonymity and said they learned of the number from their British counterparts.
In London, Paddick said at least 33 people killed in the subway system alone. He confirmed other deaths on the bus but gave no figures. The death toll was later raised to 37.
Buckman, the London doctor, said ambulance staff told him about 10 people died in the bus blast. BMA doctors treated about nine seriously wounded people in the building's courtyard, two of whom later died, he said.
Police put the number of wounded at more than 700, nearly double early reports. Among them, at least 45 were in serious or critical condition, including amputations, fractures and burns, said Russell Smith of London Ambulance Service.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone said the blasts were “mass murder” carried out by terrorists bent on “indiscriminate ... slaughter.”
“This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty or the powerful ... it was aimed at ordinary working-class Londoners,” said Livingstone, in Singapore where he supported London’s Olympic bid. Giselle Davies, an International Olympic Committee spokeswoman, said the committee still had “full confidence” in London.
Timeline of attacks
Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Brian Paddick said the first explosion, at 8:51 a.m. local time, hit a London Underground train that was 100 yards into a tunnel outside Moorgate station in the financial district in east London. Seven people died there, he said.
The second blast, at 8:56 a.m., was in the King's Cross station area of north London, and killed 21, Paddick said.
The third explosion, at 9:17 a.m., was near the Edgware station and killed seven people.
The bus explosion occurred at 9:47 a.m. At least two people were killed there.
Jay Kumar, a business owner near the site of the bus blast at Tavistock Square in central London, said he ran out of his shop when he heard a loud explosion. He said the bus’s top deck collapsed, sending people tumbling to the floor.
Many appeared badly injured, and bloodied people ran from the scene. “People were running this way panicked," he said. "They knew it was a bomb. Debris flying all over, mostly glass.”
Office worker Kibir Chibber said at one subway station that “I saw lots of people coming out covered in blood and soot. Black smoke was coming from the station. I saw several people laid out on sheets.”
Simon Corvett, on an eastbound train from Edgware Road station, described “this massive huge bang ... It was absolutely deafening and all the windows shattered.”
“You could see the carriage opposite was completely gutted,” he said. “There were some people in real trouble.”
Evening commute a mess
British Home Secretary Charles Clarke said efforts would be made to resume underground and bus operations as soon as possible but gave no indication of when that might be.
“People are strongly advised not to travel into central London as the emergency services must be allowed to do their work in the most effective way they can,” he said.
Most of the transit system still had not restarted by the evening rush hour, forcing tens of thousands to find alternative ways home.
Thomas Carr, a 63-year-old electrician who faced a two-hour walk home, said he would keep using the underground.
"It won't put me off using the Tube," he said. "You can't let them beat you."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
London rocked by explosions
Blair says he suspects terrorists are responsible
Thursday, July 7, 2005; Posted: 8:27 a.m. EDT (12:27 GMT)
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Seven explosions in London's transport system have killed at least thirty three people and wounded dozens more in what UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said was an apparent terrorist attack.
More fatalities were sure to follow -- emergency services personnel told CNN that a rescue operation at Kings Cross station had successfully evacuated all survivors, leaving dead below ground "in the double digits."
One worker said he had removed "several" bodies from the train and "at least 13" remained there. The fire brigade has now left the station, he said, and it was now a crime scene.
Three of the blasts took place in the city's subway system and one more hit a double-decker bus, all at the height of rush hour.
A previously unknown group calling itself the "Secret Organization group of al-Qaeda of Jihad in Europe" released a statement claiming responsibility for the bombings.
CNN could not confirm the authenticity of the statement, which was posted on a web site connected to Islamic radicals.
International SOS, an international medical emergency service, reported that the police had found explosive traces in at least one of four confirmed blast locations.
Hospital officials have reported at least 300 wounded. London transit officials shut down the entire Underground and stopped buses in the central city district.
"We are dealing with large numbers of casualties," he said, "and we believe a number of fatalities."
Flanked by the somber leaders of the world's eight largest industrial nations at the G8 summit in Scotland, Blair said: "We condemn utterly these barbaric attacks. We send our profound condolences to the victims and their families.
"All of our countries have suffered from the impact of terrorism. Those responsible have no respect for human life. We are united in our resolve to confront and defeat this terrorism that is not an attack on one nation, but all nations and on civilized people everywhere."
Blair told reporters he would leave the summit for a "face to face" report in London and then return later in the evening.
A White House spokesman said U.S. President George W. Bush was aware of the explosions and had been in briefings with Blair all morning.
Despite calls from officials to stay home, however, Londoners were on the streets except in areas where they were barred by police.
Police cordoned off areas around six stations in and around the city's center and financial area and brought in sniffer dogs to check the areas.
Telephone traffic -- particularly by cell phone -- was nearly impossible. London's largest cellular provider, Vodafone, said it had devoted much of its network to emergency services, causing the problems with subscribers.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone said the blasts were "mass murder" carried out by terrorists bent on "indiscriminate ... slaughter."
Livingstone, in Singapore where he supported London's successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics, said: "I want to say one thing: This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty or the powerful, it is not aimed at presidents or prime ministers, it was aimed at ordinary working-class Londoners."
One man, with blood streaming down the left side of his face from a wound on his temple, said he didn't "want to live through it again."
"I was in the front carriage and people were severely injured there," he said, dispassionately, adding that his train had been in the tunnel between Kings Cross and Russell Square. "I heard, but I don't know, that people were hurt worse further back. "Some people were very calm, others very panicky."
"There was a very loud bang, the lights went out, the carriage filled with smoke," he said. "We were all thrown forward."
Another man, clearly shaken by his experience, described being on a smoke-filled carriage on the same train, he and his fellow passengers afraid to try to leave the train.
"We were all trapped like sardines waiting to die," said Angelo Power. "I honestly thought I was going to die, as did everyone else."
Jarvis Medhurst told CNN: "I was working at the Tavistock Hotel and a bus exploded literally 40 meters away from me. There was a massive explosion and a cloud of smoke, and then when the smoke stated to die down, you could see the wrecked bus, which was on fire.
"There were bodies everywhere. Heads and bits of bodies, heads and arms and legs all ripped away.
"There seemed to be kids lying around as well as adults. I'm just in shock, it's something I'll never forget."
A police spokesman urged Londoners to "stay where you are."
"There's no way to travel around London at the moment," he said.
"There is a London emergency plan," he said. "It has been put into effect. It is being coordinated by the Metropolitan Police, and that's about all I can say at the moment."
Scotland Yard sent out a notice saying that "public transport in London will be affected in the next few days."
Claire Burroughs, spokeswoman for St Mary's Hospital in central London, told CNN the hospital was on "major incident alert." Four patients were critically injured, eight were seriously injured and 14 others were being treated for minor injuries, she said.
"The types of injuries we are seeing include limb damage, burns, cuts, breaks, head injuries and chest problems due to smoke inhalation," Burroughs said.
London Hospital said it received 95 patients, most with minor injuries. Ten, however were listed in serious condition and seven in critical condition as well as "numerous with significant orthopedic injuries requiring immediate surgery."
CNN cameraman Oran O'Reilly said he has seen seven of the city's famed double-decker buses as well as police cars and ambulances arriving with casualties.
Another hospital told CNN it had taken in 40 wounded.
British Home Secretary Charles Clarke said the explosions took place between Russell Square and Kings Cross Underground; near the Moorgate, Aldgate and Liverpool Street stations Underground; and the Edgware Road station.
The fourth explosion on a bus just outside Tavistock Hotel.
London Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police and London's fire brigade are investigating, according to Scotland Yard.
O'Reilly, who was at Aldgate station, saw passengers coming out of it with signs of smoke inhalation -- black smudges around their mouths and noses.
"They're pushing people away from the tube (train) station," O'Reilly said. "Police are telling us to evacuate the street."
Also at Aldgate, CNN producer Roger Clark said he had seen people with blood running down their faces, with many others looking stunned.
An eyewitness who was on a train told Clark the car in front of him exploded and then the the train tunnel filed with smoke.
Separately, the London Fire Service said it was responding to a report of an explosion on a bus at Russell Square. Chamberlin heard a loud explosion in central London. Witnesses told him they saw a heavily damaged double-decker bus.
