rocked three stations of London’s underground railway system and a bus in what police officials called "a very serious incident."
"One person has received an injury at Warren Street. We cannot confirm what the injury is, how it was received or who serious it is. We are still waiting for more information," The British Transport Police said in a statement.
There were reports the injured person may have been holding a rucksack containing the detonator. Armed police were seen entering the University College Hospital. In addition, a Number 26 bus in Hackney Road in Bethnal Green had reportedly its windows blown out by a blast. There were no reports of injuries in that blast.
Police chief Ian Blair said there was a "serious incident", but he appealed to Londoners to stay where they were and said the transport system was effectively being shut down. The minor explosions reportedly used detonators.
The apparent second terror attack in as many weeks came as London security forces were already on edge after three suicide bombers detonated bombs on the metro, known here as "Tube trains" and a fourth blew himself up on a bus, killing at least 56 people, earlier this month.
WITNESSES SPEAK OUT
Meanwhile stories emerged from witnesses. One Victoria Line passenger said a traveler’s rucksack exploded on the Tube outside Warren Street station.
"I was in a middle carriage and the train was not far short of Warren Street station when
suddenly the door between my carriage and the next one burst open and dozens of people
started rushing through. Some were falling, there was mass panic" passenger Ivan McCracken
reportedly told Sky News television.
"It was difficult to get the story from any of them what had happened but when I got to
ground level there was an Italian young man comforting an Italian girl who told me he had
seen what had happened. He said a man was carrying a rucksack and the rucksack suddenly
exploded. It was a minor explosion but enough to blow open the rucksack."
"GONE WRONG"
He said "the man then made an exclamation as if something had gone wrong. At that point
everyone rushed from the carriage." Eyewitnesses also reported they saw smoke coming from
the stations and all three have been evacuated.
The whole of the Northern Line was suspended, along with the Victoria Line and the
Hammersmith and City, after reports of smoke. Sosiane Mohellavi, 35, was traveling from Oxford Circus to Walthamstow when she was evacuated from a train at Warren Street.
"I was sitting in the carriage reading a book and I smelt something burning, like wiring or tyres, and it just got more intense. Suddenly people panicked and started screaming and were walking on each other’s backs trying to get the hell out of there. I couldn’t move, I didn’t know what to do, whether to run or not. People ran and left their shoes and belongings when they smelt the burning," Mr Mohellavi was quoted as saying by the Ireland Online news website.
One hospital, near Warren St station, started its emergency plan, the BBC reported. The latest developments were also expected to be closely watched by several churches and Christian aid groups who played a key role in treating victims during the terror attacks earlier this month, BosNewsLife established.
POPE REACTS
Pope Benedict XVI said earlier that "terrorism is not a clash of civilization, but the action of groups of fanatics," responding to a question about the July 7 London bombings. He added that "dialogue between the three monotheistic religions is very important."
He also expressed "profound sadness" for the "atrocious terrorist attacks" and told bombers and other terrorists to "stop in the name of God."
Thursday’s explosions came as British Prime Minister Tony Blair was due to hold talks later in the day with senior intelligence officers and police chiefs to discuss whether they need extra powers in the wake of the earlier London bombings. (BosNewsLife is On the Story: customers may experience some delays, due to an overload of requests from around the world.)
