http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4659641.stm
Hospitals treating many injured
Hospitals across London are treating significant numbers of casualties after blasts in the centre of the capital.
More than 200 people were taken to Whitechapel's Royal London Hospital, three of which are in intensive care.
Paddington's St Mary's Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital in north London and University College Hospital also received large numbers of injured.
Police said about 150 people were seriously injured in the four explosions.
University College Hospital said it had treated about 50 casualties, of whom a number were seriously injured.
[HOSPITAL CASUALTIES
Royal London Hospital - 208 brought in, 13 in theatre and three in intensive care
St Mary's Hospital - 36 arrived, six critical, 17 seriously
Great Ormond Street - About 22 brought in
University College Hospital - About 50 people treated
Royal Free Hospital - 55 arrived, most with minor injuries
Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital - Eight brought in
BMA doctors tend casualties]
Professor Jim Ryan, a senior A&E consultant who is leading the major incident team, said: "They came in with blast injuries.
"They have fragmentation, skin, inhalation and limb injuries.
"The characteristic injury of a terrorist incident is multiple injuries to multiple body systems, and that is what we have seen."
The Royal Free Hospital said 55 people had arrived, most suffering from minor injuries but 10 were in a serious condition, while eight have been taken to Guy's and St Thomas's on the southern bank of the Thames.
The London Ambulance Service (LAS) said it was only attending life-threatening illnesses and injuries so it could concentrate on the blast scenes.
--Major incident plans--
Surrey and Royal Berkshire ambulance crews have also been sent into the capital to lend support.
Wounded people were assessed at triage sites set up near to the blasts, with the most serious being taken to nearby hospitals.
Public buses took some of the wounded to hospital.
Many hospitals have put their major incident plans into operation, and unconfirmed reports suggest the entire NHS has been put on standby to receive patients and support the emergency response.
AMBULANCE CASUALTIES
Ambulance crews have treated 45 people for serious and critical injuries, including burns, amputations, blast injuries and fractured limbs
More than 300 patients have been treated for minor injuries, such as lacerations, smoke inhalation, shock and cuts and bruises
Seriously injured and those with minor injuries needing hospital treatment were taken to the nearest facilities. The others were treated at the scene
Under the plans, hospitals can call in off duty staff and halt non-urgent surgery to free up theatres.
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children even set up makeshift facilities - it does not have an A&E unit - under its emergency plans, but later closed them after treating more than 22 people.
Most hospitals said they were coping with the flood of casualties.
Paul White, chief executive of the Royal London Hospital, which has just practised its emergency drill, said: "This is probably the most major incident we have had in recent years but we are coping well, we are not overwhelmed."
Julian Nettel, a spokesman for St Mary's Hospital, which has admitted 36 people, six in a critical condition and 17 seriously injured, said: "We cleared as many beds as possible within the hospital.
"We also cleared and cancelled immediately all of our out patient activity so that we created space to treat more minor injuries."
But he said even though they had to deal with sickness and injuries on a day to day basis, it was an extremely distressing situation.
The Department of Health, which has the power to take overall control of the deployment of NHS resources during complex incidents, said: "We would like to reassure the public that the NHS in London is on full alert and everything is being done to help those injured."
London MP Nick Raynsford said the NHS, police and fire service had been preparing for major incidents ever since the terrorist attacks in the US.
He said: "The emergency services are prepared for multiple attacks occurring in London."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/h ... 659641.stm
Published: 2005/07/07 14:54:47 GMT
© BBC MMV
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4661059.stm
More than 30 die in London blasts
A series of bomb attacks on London's transport network has killed more than 30 people and injured about 350 others.
There were three explosions on the Underground - which police said left 33 dead - and one on a double-decker bus in which an unknown number died.
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has returned to London from the G8 summit, has described the attack as "barbaric".
An Islamist website has posted a statement - purportedly from al-Qaeda - claiming it was behind the attacks.
The Queen said she was "deeply shocked" and sent her sympathy to those affected and the Union Jack was flying at half mast over Buckingham Palace.
[Blast timeline
0851 Seven people die in a blast on a train 100 yards from Liverpool Street station
0856 21 people die in a blast on a train between Russell Square and King's Cross stations
0917 Five people die in blast on a train at Edgware Road station
0947 An unknown number die in a blast on a bus at Tavistock Place.]
US President George Bush told reporters at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles that "the war on terror goes on."
All London Underground services have been suspended until at least Friday.
Bus services have resumed in central London (Zone One) with diversions in affected areas. Most mainline train stations are open.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick confirmed 33 people had died in the blasts on the Underground.
He said there were 21 confirmed fatalities following the blast at 0856 BST in a tunnel between King's Cross and Russell Square.
There were seven confirmed deaths after a blast at 0851 BST 100 yards into a tunnel from Liverpool Street station. The train was either a Central Line or Circle Line train.
And at 0917 BST an explosion on a train coming into Edgware Road underground station blew a hole through a wall onto another train in an adjoining platform.
[It's particularly barbaric that this has happened on a day when people are meeting to try to help the problems of poverty and Africa
Tony Blair]
Three trains were thought to be involved and there were five confirmed deaths so far, Mr Paddick said.
He said it was not yet known how many died in the bus blast at 0947 at the junction of Upper Woburn Place and Tavistock Square.
London Ambulance Service said it had treated 45 patients with serious or critical injuries including burns, amputations, chest and blast injuries and fractured limbs.
Some 300 more people were treated for minor injuries including lacerations and smoke inhalation, LAS assistant chief officer Russell Smith added.
In other developments:
* The officer in charge of policing the G8 summit said many of the 1,500 Metropolitan Police officers in Scotland would be urgently redeployed to London
* The police set up a casualty bureau number on 0870 1566344
* New Olympics minister Tessa Jowell said celebrations to mark the homecoming from Singapore of the successful London Olympic bid team have been cancelled
* Pope Benedict said the blasts were "barbaric acts against humanity" in a message to the Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor
* London Mayor Ken Livingstone, speaking from Singapore before flying back to the UK, said Londoners would not be divided by a "cowardly attack".
* 54 state schools were closed in Westminster
* Mobile phone services across London were jammed with all major networks reporting problems as people tried to contact relatives and friends. A spokeswoman for Vodafone said the emergency services were being given priority.
Mr Paddick confirmed police were looking into whether the bus blast was the work of a suicide bomber.
But, he added: "It could as easily be an explosive device left on the bus as the work of a suicide bomber. We are not able to determine which it was yet."
He said no warning had been given before the blasts and that no-one had yet claimed to be behind them.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said a previously unknown group calling itself the Secret Organisation Group of al-Qaeda of Jihad Organisation in Europe had claimed to be behind the attacks in a statement posted on an Islamist website.
The group's statement said the attacks were revenge for the "massacres" Britain was committing in Iraq and Afghanistan and that the country was now "burning with fear and panic", he added.
[HAVE YOUR SAY
There are a lot of people phoning loved ones to make sure they are ok
Amy Hinkley, London,]
Early reports had suggested a power surge could be to blame for explosions on the Underground but this was later discounted.
Describing the bus blast in Tavistock Square, witness Belinda Seabrook said she saw an explosion rip through the vehicle.
"I was on the bus in front and heard an incredible bang, I turned round and half the double-decker bus was in the air," she said.
She said the bus had been travelling from Euston to Russell Square and was "packed" with people turned away from Tube stops.
"It was a massive explosion and there were papers and half a bus flying through the air." she said.
One caller to BBC Five Live said his friend had seen "the bus ripped open like a can of sardines".
[Blasts occurred:
Between Aldgate East and Liverpool Street tube stations
Between Russell Square and King's Cross tube stations
At Edgware Road tube station
On bus at Tavistock Square]
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/4661059.stm
Published: 2005/07/07 15:48:47 GMT
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4659933.stm
Blair vows terrorists won't win
Tony Blair has said terrorists will not succeed in destroying "our values and our way of life" after blasts hit London's transport network.
The prime minister has now returned to Downing Street from the G8 summit, but has made clear the talks will continue.
Earlier he read a statement from the G8 leaders saying the blasts were "an attack not on one nation but on all nations and civilised people".
The Queen said she was "deeply shocked" and sent sympathy to those affected.
US President George Bush said there was an "incredibly vivid contrast" between the work at the G8 to alleviate poverty and the "evil" of those wanting to kill.
"We will not yield to these terrorists," said Mr Bush.
Mr Blair is now chairing a meeting of Cobra, the government committee which brings together various senior ministers and security officials to deal with emergencies.
--'Barbaric'--
Speaking before he left Gleneagles, he said: "It is important that those engaged in terrorism realise that our determination to defend our values and our way of life is greater than their determination to cause death and destruction to innocent people in a desire to impose extremism on the world.
"Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilised nations throughout the world."
Visibly shocked, Mr Blair said it was reasonably clear terrorists had timed the attacks to coincide with the start of the G8 summit.
[[It is particularly barbaric this has happened on a day when people are meeting to try to help the problems of poverty in Africa
Tony Blair]]
"It is particularly barbaric this has happened on a day when people are meeting to try to help the problems of poverty in Africa and the long term problems of climate change and the environment," he said.
In the joint G8 statement, Mr Blair said all the leaders believed the terrorists had no respect for human life.
"We are united in our resolve to confront and defeat this terrorism...," he said. "We will not allow violence to change our society and values nor will we allow it to stop our work at this summit."
--'Cowardly'--
London Mayor Ken Livingstone said he was returning to the city in the next few hours from Singapore, where he lobbied for the Olympic bid.
Mr Livingstone said: "This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful. It was not aimed at presidents or prime ministers. It was aimed at ordinary working class people."
The mayor said the blasts were a cowardly and indiscriminate attempt at mass murder which would fail in its bid to destroy free society.
He added: "They seek to turn Londoners against each other... London will not be divided by this."
--'Keep calm'--
In a statement to the House of Commons, Home Secretary Charles Clarke said: "Our first responsibility is to protect and support the public."
He urged people not to rush to judgement and should behave in a "calm and considered way".
Mr Clarke added: "People are strongly advised not to travel into central London as the emergency service must be allowed to do their work as effectively as they can."
[This country is completely united in our determination to defeat terrorism
Michael Howard
Conservative leader]
Conservative leader Michael Howard and Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy both sent their sympathies to those injured and the families of those killed.
And they praised the "heroic" work of the emergency services.
Mr Howard said it was a "dreadful day for London and for our city" and pledged his party's full support for the government.
"This country is completely united in our determination to defeat terrorism and to deal with those who are responsible for the appalling acts that we have seen today," he said.
The Tory leader said Londoners had put up with bombings and disruption before and "the sprit of Londoners was absolutely solid and strong".
--Solidarity call--
Mr Kennedy said: "What has happened is appalling and those who carried out these attacks must be brought to justice...
"The moral contrast between those who seek to disrupt and destroy and those who are trying to build for the future [at the G8 summit] could not be more stark. The terrorists must not prevail."
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said he had joined with Muslim leaders in condemning the attacks during a visit to West Yorkshire.
"Such solidarity and common purpose is vital for us all at this time of pain and sorrow and anger," said Dr Williams.
Respect MP George Galloway said the attacks were "despicable but not remotely unpredictable" - saying the security services had warned the Iraq war could increase the risks of terrorism.
Mr Galloway argued it was not possible to deal with every angry person in the world and said the causes of hate, such as the Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib prisons, had to be tackled.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/u ... 659933.stm
Published: 2005/07/07 16:01:33 GMT
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4660391.stm
Statement claiming London attacks
The BBC has located an Islamist website that has published a 200-word statement issued by an organisation saying it carried out the London bombings.
The organisation calls itself the Secret Organisation Group of al-Qaeda [literally the base] of Jihad Organisation in Europe.
The group is previously unknown.
The website has previously carried statements purporting to be from al-Qaeda. It is not possible to verify such claims published on the web.
This is the full text of the statement.
In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate, may peace be upon the cheerful one and undaunted fighter, Prophet Muhammad, God's peace be upon him.
Nation of Islam and Arab nation: Rejoice for it is time to take revenge against the British Zionist Crusader government in retaliation for the massacres Britain is committing in Iraq and Afghanistan. The heroic mujahideen have carried out a blessed raid in London. Britain is now burning with fear, terror and panic in its northern, southern, eastern, and western quarters.
We have repeatedly warned the British Government and people. We have fulfilled our promise and carried out our blessed military raid in Britain after our mujahideen exerted strenuous efforts over a long period of time to ensure the success of the raid.
We continue to warn the governments of Denmark and Italy and all the Crusader governments that they will be punished in the same way if they do not withdraw their troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. He who warns is excused.
God says: "You who believe: If ye will aid (the cause of) Allah, He will aid you, and plant your feet firmly."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/4660391.stm
Published: 2005/07/07 12:27:20 GMT
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