Breaking News: Three London subway stations reportedly evacu
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:00 am
Three London subway stations reportedly evacuated
CTV.ca News Staff
London's entire Underground network was shut down Thursday as emergency services responded to incidents at three subway stations.
The stations were evacuated following unconfirmed reports that smoke was seen coming out of an Underground train at midday.
The city's police urged caution, saying they were not treating the evacuations at the three stations as a "major incident yet."
A Scotland Yard police headquarters spokesman told Reuters news agency: "We can confirm emergency services are responding to reports of incidents at three locations on the underground --Oval, Warren Street and Shepherd's Bush."
Shepherd's Bush station is in the western part of London, while Oval station is south of the River Thames, and Warren Street station is located in central London.
Underground officials say there have been no reports of casualties.
"There is such a high state of concern here, that I think things are said and allegations are made," CTV's Tom Kennedy said, urging people not to jump to conclusions before reports were confirmed.
There were also unconfirmed reports that there was a small explosion on one train involving a backpack. It was not clear if it was the same train where witnesses reported seeing smoke.
"I was in the carriage and we smelt smoke -- it was like something was burning," said Losiane Mohellavi, who was evacuated at Warren Street, told The Associated Press.
"Everyone was panicked and people were screaming. We had to pull the alarm. I am still shaking," Mohellavi said.
In other unverified reports:
A source at a city transport company said a nail bomb exploded at Warren Street station.
The source also claimed there was a report of a shooting but did not specify where in the city.
Police are also investigating a report of an incident on a bus in east London. A bus operator said the windows were blown out of the Number 26 bus, but that there were no injuries.
Officials did not confirm the bus incident nor the shooting.
The reports prompted fears of fresh attacks on the city, marking two weeks since the four blasts on the city's transit system that killed 56 people, including four suicide bombers.
Earlier Thursday, Prime Minister Tony Blair summoned intelligence and security officials to discuss what measures needed to be implemented to prevent a repeat of the suicide bombings earlier this month.
Blair's government plans a series of new anti-terror measures by the end of the year, including prohibiting attendance at terrorist training camps in Britain or abroad.
CTV.ca News Staff
London's entire Underground network was shut down Thursday as emergency services responded to incidents at three subway stations.
The stations were evacuated following unconfirmed reports that smoke was seen coming out of an Underground train at midday.
The city's police urged caution, saying they were not treating the evacuations at the three stations as a "major incident yet."
A Scotland Yard police headquarters spokesman told Reuters news agency: "We can confirm emergency services are responding to reports of incidents at three locations on the underground --Oval, Warren Street and Shepherd's Bush."
Shepherd's Bush station is in the western part of London, while Oval station is south of the River Thames, and Warren Street station is located in central London.
Underground officials say there have been no reports of casualties.
"There is such a high state of concern here, that I think things are said and allegations are made," CTV's Tom Kennedy said, urging people not to jump to conclusions before reports were confirmed.
There were also unconfirmed reports that there was a small explosion on one train involving a backpack. It was not clear if it was the same train where witnesses reported seeing smoke.
"I was in the carriage and we smelt smoke -- it was like something was burning," said Losiane Mohellavi, who was evacuated at Warren Street, told The Associated Press.
"Everyone was panicked and people were screaming. We had to pull the alarm. I am still shaking," Mohellavi said.
In other unverified reports:
A source at a city transport company said a nail bomb exploded at Warren Street station.
The source also claimed there was a report of a shooting but did not specify where in the city.
Police are also investigating a report of an incident on a bus in east London. A bus operator said the windows were blown out of the Number 26 bus, but that there were no injuries.
Officials did not confirm the bus incident nor the shooting.
The reports prompted fears of fresh attacks on the city, marking two weeks since the four blasts on the city's transit system that killed 56 people, including four suicide bombers.
Earlier Thursday, Prime Minister Tony Blair summoned intelligence and security officials to discuss what measures needed to be implemented to prevent a repeat of the suicide bombings earlier this month.
Blair's government plans a series of new anti-terror measures by the end of the year, including prohibiting attendance at terrorist training camps in Britain or abroad.