Series Of Explosions In London

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AP PHOTO / PA BLASTED: The bus in Tavistock Square is seen in this cellphone camera image

All surrounding roads were closed off by policemen screaming for people to retreat from the area in fear of other explosions. A stream of paramedics armed with blankets, oxygen canisters and wheelchairs sprinted through the streets and at least 12 ambulances were on the scene at that site alone. So far authorities have confirmed 21 people died in that attack.

Elsewhere, sirens could be heard shrieking throughout London as endless convoys of ambulances ferried victims to hospital. Helicopters shuddered overhead and swarms of people jammed the streets after being evacuated from their offices, huddling around televisions in cafes and store windows, which relayed the shocking footage. Confused tourists wandered aimlessly among them, some still trying to get into the tube stations.

At the Royal London hospital Mustafa Kurtuldu, 24, was treated after surviving an attack on a tube line near Liverpool Street station, another major transport hub in the city. The train was packed, he said, and then, "at about five to nine, everything went white — it felt like an electrical explosion and the train juddered as though it had run over concrete."

At that stage people in the carriage thought the problem was merely a power failure and the reaction was calm, not hysterical. It was only when passengers ventured past a carriage a few compartments down that they saw the carnage first hand.

"I saw someone on the track being seen to by others — I don't know whether the person was dead or alive. One person had blood gushing down his face, another was covered in soot."

More than nine hours after the first attack, stunned Londoners are now trying to come to terms with the day's events, such a short time after city celebrated its Olympic bid win with such elation. Some buses are now running again but the underground rail network will be closed until Friday at least.

In Gleaneagles President George W. Bush made a separate statement drawing a contrast between world leaders trying to alleviate poverty at the G-8 and terrorists killing innocent people. "The war on terror goes on," he said.

In London Blair welcomed a statement of support from the Muslim Council of Great Britain after it appeared an Al-Qaeda splinter group claimed responsibility for the attacks on their web site. That claim has not been substantiated.

Metropolitan police chief Sir Ian Blair said only a few months ago that a terrorist attack on London was "inevitable," and not a question of "if", but "when". That "when" appears to be today, and no matter the anticipation, it has shaken the city to its core.