Britain faced its fifth terrorism incident in 2017 as an improvised explosive device triggered an explosion on a rush-hour tube train at Parsons Green in southwest London on Friday morning, injuring at least 22 people and triggering mass panic at the station.
The Metropolitan Police, whose counter terrorism command centre has taken charge of the multi-agency investigation, confirmed that the “critical and extremely serious incident” was being treated as a terrorist one and that Londoners could expect to see an enhanced police presence, particularly across transport networks.
“Our city utterly condemns the hideous individuals who attempt to use terror to harm us and destroy our way of life,” said London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Prime Minister Theresa May chaired a meeting of the emergency COBRA committee, on Friday afternoon as Britain’s terror threat remained at severe, meaning a terror attack was highly likely. The Metropolitan police urged members of the public to remain calm and alert and for those who had images of the scene to upload them on a police website. The explosion took place at around 8.20 in the morning when the device on the district line tube train, travelling from southwest London to Paddington went off, creating what witnesses on the train described as a “fireball.”
Images circulating on social media, taken after the incident, appeared to show a white bucket within a supermarket bag.
One witness, who suffered burns on his scalp, spoke of others who were badly burnt, while others spoke of the panic that ensued after the incident as, after the doors were quickly opened, people attempted to exit the station through its single narrow stairwell.
