(The following article by Sarah Lyall was posted on the New York Times website on July 7.)
LONDON — London was struck by a series of at least seven separate and apparently coordinated terrorist explosions in subways and buses during the morning rush hour this morning. The explosions ripped apart at least one double-decker bus and caused officials to close and evacuate the entire subway system.
There were many casualties, but officials said it was still too early to tell how many of them were injuries. There were at least two dead. Witnesses reported seeing dozens of people stumbling out of subway stations, coughing, and black with soot. Dozens more were being loaded into ambulances on stretchers and taken to hospitals around the city.
In a televised statement from the Group of Eight summit meeting of world leaders, Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was “reasonably clear” that the explosions had been an act of terrorism.
“It is reasonably clear that there has been a series of terrorist attacks in London,” Mr. Blair said. “There are obviously casualties – with people that have died and people are seriously injured.”
He added, “Just as it is reasonably clear that this is a terrorist attack or a series of terrorist attacks, it is also reasonably clear that it is designed and aimed to coincide with the opening of the G-8.”
Mr. Blair said he planned to travel to London from Gleneagles, Scotland, within the next few hours, and then return to Scotland for the summit this evening. In his absence, he said, the summit would continue.
“It is the will of all of the leaders of the G-8, however, that the meeting should continue in my absence, that we should continue to discuss the issues we were going to discuss – and reach the conclusions which we were going to reach,” Mr. Blair said.
He added that it was “particularly barbaric” that the attacks had occurred during a summit intended to aid people in developing nations.
Traces of explosives were found at one of the blast sites, said the chief commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police, Ian Blair, according to Reuters.
The police official said explosions had taken place at or around the subway stations at Edgware Road, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Russell Square, Aldgate East and Moorgate. He declined to speculate on the cause, but added, “We are concerned that this is a coordinated attack.”
Television pictures showed people with bloody faces and bandages on their faces and heads.
The explosions came a day after London celebrated winning the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Roger Clark, who was riding on a bus to work in central London, said he had seen a double-decker bus on the street ahead of him suddenly explode.
“The top rear section of the bus exploded, ripping apart the whole of the bus,” he told CNN. “It lifted about 10 meters above the bus.”
The bus, he said, had been “packed” with people.
Other witnesses reported seeing “multiple casualties, multiple bodies.”
British Home Secretary Charles Clarke said there had been “terrible injuries.”
Mobile phones and land lines were not working because the systems had been overloaded. Large sections of central London had been cordoned off.
At Tavistock Square, a parking attendant, Ade Soji, said that the driver of the bus that exploded had stopped him just before it took place. “I was helping a member of the public with directions when the bus stopped and the driver asked me the name of the street,” Mr. Soji told the Press Association. “I told him Tavistock Square and he called me over. Just as I was about to go, I heard the bus explode. In another second I would have been dead. I had to run for my life.”
Witnesses reported that the top of the bus was seared off like a sardine can.
Mr. Blair, London’s police commissioner, said that since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in the United States, London’s emergency services had been preparing for such an incident and that “the situation is being controlled.” He warned people to “stay where you are” and not to attempt to travel around London – in addition to the subway closures, much of the bus system was also closed – and not to call the police or ambulance services unless there was a life-threatening emergency.
At St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, officials reported that they had admitted four people with critical injuries, like loss of arms and legs; eight with serious injuries, including head wounds, smoke inhalation and lacerations; and four with more minor injuries, including temporary hearing loss.
Loyita Worley, who works for a city law firm, told the BBC that she was in the subway when an explosion took place in the next carriage, while it was in a tunnel.
Ms. Worley, 49, said: “All the lights went out and the train came to an immediate halt. There was smoke everywhere and everyone was coughing and choking, but remained calm. We couldn’t open the doors.”
After the doors were opened they were taken to Liverpool Street station, Ms. Worley said. She said that the carriage where the explosion took place was “black on the inside” and that she had seen people who appeared to have their clothes blown off, as well as bodies lying inside the carriage.
London’s airports have remained opened and subway stations could be reopened soon, though buses will continue to be out of service for now, said Mr. Clarke, the British home secretary.
“People are strongly advised not to travel into central London as the emergency services must be allowed to do their work in the most effective way that they can,” Mr. Clarke said.