bombs in london, people die
London has been rocked by a series of blasts on the Tube and bus network during the morning rush hour. Commuters have 'streamed out' of stations 'covered in blood' and the Tube network has been totally suspended with all stations evacuated.
Police are reported to have confirmed blasts on three buses in central London, one at Tavistock Place near Holborn, in central London. The area has been closed off.
Union officials said their sources had told them there had been at least one explosive device on the Underground. An explosion was reported at an East London station and a second incident at Edgware Road station.
London Fire Brigade said it had been called to reports of "explosions" at a number of locations in central London, including Aldgate, Edgware Road and Tavistock Square as well as to another incident at King's Cross.
British Transport Police initially said power surge incidents, some of which have caused explosions, had occurred on the London Underground at Aldgate, Edgware Road, King's Cross, Old Street and Russell Square.
Travellers emerged from tunnels covered in blood and soot.
Police said there are walking wounded at the scene and all stations have been evacuated.
A witness has reported people "streaming out" of Aldgate Tube Station "covered in blood".
Scotland Yard could not confirm reports of an explosion on a bus in Russell Square. A spokeswoman said police were at the scene and attempting to determine what had happened.
A British Transport Police (BTP) spokesman said that two trains remain stuck in tunnels at Edgware Road, but it is not known if they have collided or if passengers remain onboard.
"Officers are working at tunnel and platform level to help get people out and to help find out what has happened," he said.
Passengers smashing windows
Passengers involved in the Metropolitan Line explosion at Edgware Road are reported to have attempted to smash the windows of their Tube carriages with umbrellas in an attempt to escape.
Police are thought to have been sent into tunnels to evacuate people along the tracks.
Bradley Anderson told Sky News that he was involved in the Edgware Road incident on a Circle line train.
He said: "We just left Paddington station. About 15 seconds later there was some kind of explosion and we collided with another train.
"We were heading into the station when there was some kind of explosion or something. Everything went black and we collided into some kind of oncoming train. There was debris all over the trains. They evacuated us."
A BTP spokesman said that emergency services were dealing with reports of an explosion at 8.49am on the Metropolitan Line between Liverpool Street and Aldgate. It was first believed that the incident was caused by a collision between two trains, a power cut or a power cable exploding.
British Transport Police confirmed that there are "walking wounded" and said paramedics have responded to one report of a person classed as "life at risk".
King's Cross, Liverpool Street and Aldgate stations have also been cleared.
A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: "We have just sent some resources out to the scene. We have sent a number of vehicles to Liverpool Street station."
According to Tube infrastructure company Metronet, which is responsible for maintaining the Metropolitan line, today's incident was caused "by some kind of power surge".
London Underground said: "The network has been suspended until further notice and all stations are being evacuated."
British Transport Police said work is being carried out to establish the precise cause of the problem.
"It's chaos, with people trying to work out what has happened," said a spokesman.
"All we know at the moment is that staff reported a loud bang at 8.49am.
Stations closed across capital
The incident caused major disruption to the entire network with stations across the capital being closed.
Passengers were told that all services were being suspended because of a power fault across the network.
A City of London Police spokesman said: "We have closed Liverpool Street station as well as Aldgate.
"We believe there was some sort of explosion. There are some walking wounded at Aldgate. We are not sure of the scale of the incident. Reports are still coming in."
Ministers are meeting to clarify the situation after explosions in London, Leader of the House Geoff Hoon told the Commons. The Government will make a statement later