3 London Tube stations evacuated after blasts
LONDON - Three London Underground stations were evacuated at midday on Thursday following reports of smoke and explosions, two weeks after a series of bombings targeted London's public transport system.
Police also were investigating a report of an incident on a bus in east London.
London police chief Ian Blair confirmed that there were four explosions around the city on Thursday, causing a small number of casualties.
We know that we had four explosions or attempted explosions... At the moment the casualties appear to be very low in the explosions, the bombs appear to be smaller than on the last occasion,' he said, referring to bombs a week ago that killed 56 in London.
British Transport Police say one person has been hurt at Warren Street subway station, but did not know how serious the injury was.
There were unconfirmed reports of several explosions or sounds of explosions.
Services on the Victoria and Northern lines were suspended, London Underground said.
Sky TV showed live footage of a double-decker bus parked by the side of the road and said its windows had been blown out. In the footage, there was nobody on board or nearby and the streets appeared to have been cordoned off.
More than an hour after the reports, Metropolitan Police said they were not treating it as a major incident on a par with the July 7 attacks which killed 56 people. But the quick succession of multiple incidents and the initial confusion were reminiscent of that day.
One witness said he had been told by another subway passenger that a rucksack had exploded on a train.
Prime Minister Tony Blair cancelled his afternoon appointments as the developments unfolded.
Police said Warren Street, Shepherds Bush and Oval underground stations had been evacuated. Emergency services personnel were called to the stations, police said.
BBC TV reporter Keith Doyle near Oval station said a police officer had told him there had been an incident although it was not an explosion. He said officers had cordoned off a wide area around the station.
'People were panicking. But very fortunately the train was only 15 seconds from the station,' witness Ivan McCracken told Sky news.
Mr McCracken said another passenger had claimed he had seen a rucksack explode. The bombs which killed 56 people on three underground trains and a bus in London on July 7 were carried in rucksacks, police said.
He added that he smelled smoke and that people were panicking and coming into his carriage.
'I was in the carriage and we smelt smoke - it was like something was burning,' said Mr Losiane Mohellavi, 35, who was evacuated at Warren Street.
'Everyone was panicked and people were screaming. We had to pull the alarm. I am still shaking,' he said. -- AP, AFP
