London blogging

Eyewitness accounts and reactions to the four bomb attacks that rocked the English capital.

Published July 7, 2005 8:43PM (EDT)

"Each explosion shook the train in the air and seems to make it land at a lower point. I fell to the ground like most people, scrunched up in a ball in minimize injury. At this point I wondered if the train would ever stop, I thought 'please make it stop', but it kept going." -- Justin, from Pfff

"I slowly got that pit in my stomach, the feeling that this is bigger than a power shortage. Those who had mobile service were murmuring 'explosions' and 'it is bombs?' It was all so calm. Not like 9/11 when people were running up the street. The Brits just don't get excited." -- Bob, from bobzyeruncle.com

"As soon as we pulled into St. Paul's everyone was evacuated out of the station. It was pretty clear something serious was happening." -- Steve, from myacelife.com

"Our carriage was smoke-filled, there was lots of dust, there was lots of panic. We could hear the screams from the carriage where the bomb had gone off -- they were trapped in twisted metal." -- Michael Henning, from a report by BBC News

"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" -- Belinda Seabrook, from a report by the Times Online

"It is as though time has stopped here." -- Luisa Baldini, from a report by BBC News

"I arrived in Barking to hear that there was disruption to the tubes, and that this was being blamed on a power failure. I felt lucky to have chosen a different route. -- Matthew Butt, from bnathyuw.com

"People started saying prayers, praying to God, panicking, breaking the carriage windows with bare hands, anything to get oxygen into the carriage ... The more people tried, the more distressed they got ... We were all trapped like sardines, waiting to die." -- Angelo, who was on the train bombed at King's Cross Station, from an audio clip of an interview with ITV News (posted by blogger Eban Crawford).

"Well, it's finally happened. Someone seeking to show off has finally decided to go for London's arthritic knees rather than its rock-hard skull." -- Sal, from Farting through my fingertips

"Call me a coward if you like, but the first instinct was to get as far away from London as possible. And I was not alone. I have NEVER seen so many taxis on the motorway heading west away from the city." -- Chris, from Metroblogging London

"Picked up a couple more messages -- people who know that Edgware Road is my station. One of them was from a friend who I haven't heard from in two years." --"Metrocentric," from There Goes the Neighborhood

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Many more blog posts are available on Technorati.

The photo-sharing site, Flickr.com, has hundreds of images available; Der Spiegel also has a good gallery.

Wikinews.org has an ongoing report written by dozens of readers (anyone can edit or add to it), which includes a wealth of related links and contact information.

More information and updates are available at the Guardian's newsblog.


By Ira Boudway

Ira Boudway is a freelance writer in Brooklyn and frequent contributor to Salon.

MORE FROM Ira Boudway

By Compiled by J.J. Helland



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