Parsons Green Underground entrance

Photo via David Howard/Flickr (CC-BY)

Explosion on London Tube sparks commuter panic, injures at least 22

U.S. President Donald Trump has called the terrorists 'losers,' and pushed for a more-restrictive travel ban.

 

Samantha Grasso

IRL

Posted on Sep 15, 2017   Updated on May 22, 2021, 5:22 pm CDT

On Friday morning, a makeshift explosive detonated on a London Underground train as it left the Parsons Green station in Southwest London. At least 18 were injured in the blast and subsequent stampede that followed. The explosion occurred at 8:20 am local time, according to the New York Times, and is being treated as a “terrorist incident.”

According to several London Tube passengers who were in the presence of the explosion, a loud booming noise filled the carriage of the train, followed by a wave of heat and a wall of fire. Panicked commuters attempted to escape, but were stopped and further injured by stampedes of others blocking the carriage doors.

Video circulating on Twitter shows a white bucket on fire in a London Tube train, purported to be the explosive device at the Parsons Green stop.

A woman named Katherine Manson tweeted that she was narrowly saved from the stampede on the stairs of the Parsons Green stop by a stranger. A hospital spokeswoman for the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital said a small number of injured people had been admitted, a majority of which they’re calling the “walking wounded.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan wrote in a passionate statement shared across social media that, “Our city utterly condemns the hideous individuals who attempt to use terror to harm us and destroy our way of life. As London has proven again and again, we will never be intimidated or defeated by terrorism.”

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that the explosion on a train at Parsons Green Station this morning is being…

Posted by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan on Friday, September 15, 2017

From the United States, President Donald Trump called the terrorists behind the bombing “losers,” and suggested a policy to regulate the internet and tighten his much-criticized travel ban in order to target terrorism. He then continued to attack the Obama administration by writing that his team has made more progress on targeting terrorism since his inauguration than in President Barack Obama‘s eight years in office.

Update 8:27am CT, Sept. 15: According to BuzzFeed News, 22 people in total have been admitted to London hospitals. Four admitted themselves, while the remaining 18 were transported by London Ambulance Service. Most victims are being treated for “flash burns,” according to police.

This story will continue to be updated. 

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*First Published: Sep 15, 2017, 7:06 am CDT