pictures from south-west aerial pictures from south—west london. there is continuing coverage on bbc news with sophie raworth and annita mcveigh. this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at 11. commuters flee a london tube station after an explosion in a train carriage. scotland yard says the incident is terror related. pictures of the device show a white bucket inside a carrier bag with a number of wires visible. then a fireball above my head burned all my hair, everybody ran off the train and it was quite scary. there were scenes of panic in the aftermath as people tried to escape with reports of people being trampled on in the chaos and rush. iam here i am here at parsons green where the incident took place at about 8:20am. there has been sealed off by emergency services. i will be

talking to one man who was on board at the time. welcome to bbc newsroom live. police say they are treating an explosion on an underground train in south—west london as a terrorist incident. several people have been injured. at least one woman has been taken to hospital with burns, others are reported to be suffering cuts, grazes and facial wounds. the blast happened on a district line train at parsons green station packed with commuters, at about 8.20, at the heart of the rush hour. police say it's too soon to say what caused the explosion. pictures from inside the tube show a white container inside a supermarket bag, on fire, with wires or lights protruding from it. the blast doesn't appear to have

caused extensive damage, but eye witnesses have described seeing a "wall of flame". armed police officers and a hazardous area response team are at the scene. my colleague sophie raworth has been at parsons green station all morning. i know you were there earlier when you became aware something was wrong. what happened to? i arrived on the scene at about half past eight. a lot of people said something was happening and i saw police helicopters in the sky and i heard sirens so i came over. a lot of people were leaving the station and police were beginning to cordon it off. i met a young woman who was very shaken, being interviewed by police, she said she had been on the front of the train, she described

how she was standing at the front of the packed train and there was a bang and she's flames coming towards her. she wasn't burned herself but she said she saw people with burns. she said the train doors opened immediately and people started to run. iamjoint immediately and people started to run. i am joint by luke walmsley who was on the district line train heading into london at about 8:20am. i was travelling to notting hill gate from wimbledon, very packed commuter train, young and old, children, pensioners, everyone. just listening to music, everyday occurrence, and then a bang and a flash to my left and almost immediately a surge of people screaming and running towards me. this was just as the carriage came

into parsons green so the doors hadn't opened. as soon as they opened, just running to get out of the station quick. then people just started speculating. there was a person on the train running towards us. person on the train running towards us. that is when there was more of a heightened threat and you had to run. the train you were on this morning, it wasn't separate carriages, it is the new kind, all on train. i was two thirds down and i could see where it happened. and the smoke rose up and people were running from the carriage. when we got off we could see remnants of people's bikes, they left what they could —— bags. people were being

trod on. the woman i was with, she was being walked over. she tried to get off. no one really cared. after its people were attending to injuries really quickly but in that moment of hysteria it was kind of like just push people and moment of hysteria it was kind of likejust push people and run. anyone who has travelled on these trains at that time of the day knows they are packed. really packed. really crowded? it was a little less packed because it is friday but still uncomfortable. you're clearly shaken up by this. and just reliving it every second. a gentleman who had his hand burnt, a girl who had both

her legs burnt. bad injuries. a ten—year—old boy whose leg was pretty badly injured. why parsons green? all those questions why. once you got out of the train, what happened? the parsons green exit was backing up onto the platform. that was where the major crush happened. people were screaming for calm and it wasn't really happening. the injured could then be seen because they were not running, just being left on the platform. a group of samaritans from all walks of life brought water to pour on the burns, helping the shock people, picking them up. then you saw the first wave

of fireman, police, running down and telling people to get out. the whole platform soccer disappeared really quickly. —— sort of disappeared. that's when people started to ask if it was a laptop, phone, whether it was a it was a laptop, phone, whether it wasa bomb, it was a laptop, phone, whether it was a bomb, whether it was accidental, deliberate. then people went to where they could. the shocked and really injured got help. how are you going to deal with it now? how does it leave you feeling? i thought about it two days ago about the london commuter and terrorism and i said to someone

earlier, we all know someone here has been affected by something in london, my friend was in london bridge, and then this happens. it is sort of a re—occurring thing going on. i'll go and see my brother and relax and skip work for today. on. i'll go and see my brother and relax and skip work for todaylj think you're definitely entitled to that. i was here early on and i saw people coming out of the tube and the ambulances were here and i saw one woman loaded into an ambulance, conscious, being given pain relief, she looked very distressed, some burns to her face and both she looked very distressed, some burns to herface and both her legs we re burns to herface and both her legs were wrapped in cling film to protect them. i have no idea what the scale of the injuries are at the moment. let's bring you a report now which will sum up the events of the day so far. the explosion took place at the

height of the rush—hour in packed carriages. witnesses say passengers suffers burns to the face and body. bbc presenter sophie rebirth was on the scene and interviewed people travelling on the district line. all the flames coming down the carriage after a bang and it was on the back of the chip people said they heard a bang from the train. the doors opened and everyone started running. a lot of people tried to claim over each other. it sounds like panic. exactly right. you were getting on the tube. what is it like on a friday morning? like sardines. hundreds of people. if an explosion goes off, it is appalling. witnesses say the explosion happened just as the tube was pulling up to parsons green station, causing panic as people tried to get out of the train. within one of the carriages

we re train. within one of the carriages were the explosion is thought to have taken place there are pictures showing a white bucket on fire inside a supermarket bag. residents living nearby were told to leave their homes as a precaution. we could hear screaming while we were inside the building, in our living room. we were evacuated from our building where we live. it is just opposite the train station. the london ambulance service says it has sent a hazardous area response team to the scene. lisa treating it as a terrorist incident with specialist units and the fire brigade in attendance. we are at in the very early stages of the investigation and it is too early to speculate on next steps but we will issue a further statement as we understand more about the incident. britain has suffered four attacks leaned on terrorists so far this year. in 2000

and 552 people were killed when four suicide bombers planted devices and three london underground trains and a bus. the foreign secretary appealed for calm. obviously eve ryo ne appealed for calm. obviously everyone should keep calm and go about their lives in the normal way that they possibly can. the british transport police and tefl are on it and they will be updating their websites as and when we get more information. the prime minister will chaira meeting... since about 8:20am this area has been cordoned off, good half a mile, by emergency services. emma, you we re by emergency services. emma, you were there this morning. what did you see? i got on the train and within five seconds the doors were closing and we heard the loudest, scariest closing and we heard the loudest, scariest screams closing and we heard the loudest, scariest screams coming from what sounded like the carriage right next us and people shouting run, so we

ran for us and people shouting run, so we ranfor our us and people shouting run, so we ran for our lives and we didn't know why. i didn't hear an explosion, i thought as it had been thrown. we got to the steps and it was the worst. it was a crush that we got stuck in. a woman was shaun tait she was pregnant and a little boy's face got to hit into the last step. there are layers on top of people screaming. it was really traumatic. we didn't know why we were running andi we didn't know why we were running and ijust we didn't know why we were running and i just thought we didn't know why we were running and ijust thought maybe this is worse, maybe it is all a big mistake. maybe someone's phone had exploded in their pocket. it was just awful, and i am so lucky i am not injured. i feel so lucky i put trainers on this morning, so lucky i wasn't the two woman underneath me. it isa wasn't the two woman underneath me. it is a very small station, one

staircase that comes from the platform. two small exits. at everybody that gets the district line will now everyone gets on at wimbledon and to get on at parsons green you'rejust like wimbledon and to get on at parsons green you're just like sardines trying to pack in so you think hundreds of people came off that chain intoa hundreds of people came off that chain into a tiny station to go down a tiny set of steps and it was a com plete a tiny set of steps and it was a complete crush. you are literally trampling on people. there are layers of people underneath me. the quys layers of people underneath me. the guys that work further underground, all two of them, which starts to make me realise we should have more people. they were shouting to get back because the people lower down we re back because the people lower down were really injured. i was lucky to be in this little pocket. ifelt were really injured. i was lucky to be in this little pocket. i felt for a second that i was going to die today. i didn't know who was behind me, someone with a knife, someone with a bomb? i was looking at the

woman underneath me thinking you poor thing. nobody could get down to help them? no, it was like hillsborough, stacked, people on top of each other. if you have hundreds of each other. if you have hundreds of people running down a tiny staircase you're going to have lots of layers of bodies and people and there was a poor little boy in his red and black uniform, who goes to one of the schools around here, he smashed his face and he was screaming and crying. then he was being carried by someone, still crying, had he broken his leg? i askedif crying, had he broken his leg? i asked if everyone was ok and eve ryo ne asked if everyone was ok and everyone was shaken and we didn't know what had happened, just that we had run away because we were told to, and there was a big crush. katie, using site from your home next door. —— you saw it from your home. i heard screams and i was

looking out to try to work out where they were coming from. sometimes there is a lot of noise from our nearby school. the train was moving and it looked like people were getting on and then people getting off, and then our lady ran into the course and asked for somewhere safe to go. she had lost her shoes. we we nt to go. she had lost her shoes. we went into my flat and we were trying to piece it together. she hadn't heard a noise, she just saw lots of people trying to get off the train. i think she had stepped foot on the train and then ran off and other people hadn't realised and were still trying to get on. so we were my flat and then surely after the police told us to evacuate. we had to get out quickly. they had cordoned off a few metres from the entrance and then the emergency services seems to go into my course and there are work men and they said

there were reports of other devices. ididn't there were reports of other devices. i didn't see anyone injured but a lot of people were running around saying they heard noises and emergency services were there. we could smell a bit of burning but none of us in the apartment blocks, none of us in the apartment blocks, none of us in the apartment blocks, none of my neighbours i spoke to had heard an explosion, but we heard something. what did the lady who lost her shoes say to you? she was very alert and fine but very distressed. she was worried about those who haven't got out quickly. she said she jumped over the barriers out of instinct. she said there are lots of people. what sort children in school uniform as well, which is heartbreaking. peak commuter time. you heard of the

bank? nobody heard an explosion, just what sounded like the carriage next to us all screaming. like that bloodcurdling scream of seeing something horrible happen, and we we re something horrible happen, and we were all told to run. this was as the doors were closing, then the doors opened and we ran. thank you for talking to me. i hope you are all right. it was a horrible thing to go through. peter crowley was travelling on the train, and was injured in the explosion. he's been describing to my colleague, tina daheley, what happened. the train came to the platform, i was on my phone with my face to the side of what i believe where the explosion took place. i heard a large bank from the doors on the other side of the tube train and then a fireball came above my head and singed my hair. i have burn

marks on the top of my head. everyone ran off the train. it was quite scary. what did you see? did you notice anything unusual before that had happened? no. it is not really significant but the tube from wimbledon was delayed by two minutes but obviously that is not anything to do with it. that was the only thing that was different to my journey today. how are you injured? it was a really hot, intense fireball above my head. ijust have read marx and burns to the top of my head. there were a lot of people a lot worse than me. can you tell us about their injuries? how badly were the injured? i saw a gentleman who had what looked like a puffer jacket, the whole back of it had been burnt were the intense heat got to it. he had burn marks on his face

which were looking a lot worse than mine. 0ther which were looking a lot worse than mine. other people were in shock and physically upset. mostly it was facial injuries. when you say facial injuries, what kind? burns? yes, i didn't see any blood as such. in those seconds after it happened, what was the atmosphere like? what was happening around you? like nothing i've ever seen before, sheer panic, everyone jumped off nothing i've ever seen before, sheer panic, everyonejumped off the train. i think everyone's initial reaction was to look back and assess the situation. i moved down the platform from where the incident took place and it was just sheer panic. how busy was the train

carriage? thankfully when i travelled to work the day before it was what i would call sardines. it was what i would call sardines. it was busy but it was movable, not what i consider as busy as it could have been, but still busy. we are argue now? —— where are you now? waiting to be treated? just going to the hospital shortly. i work and wandsworth bridge road which is about a 20 minute walk from parsons green station. peter crowley talking to the bbc a short time after the incident took place. the latest news we have from the london ambulance service is that 18 people have been taken to hospital to be treated for their injuries sustained this morning but the good news is none of them, they say, are life threatening or serious. i8 say, are life threatening or serious. 18 people taken from here to hospital but we are being told

that none of those injuries is life—threatening. i am joined that none of those injuries is life—threatening. iam joined by alex weldon who was nearby. he works next to the station. you had got to work. yes, i was cycling on the other side of the station around fulham road around 8:30am and the area was cordoned off, which i didn't think too much of immediately, maybe a traffic accident so i found another way round to the station where i have to come pass to get to my place of work, and we were told to leave the area, there are armed police there who wouldn't say what was going on but said quite frantically to leave the area, which we did. i made it to my office, which is inside the cordoned off area, 50 metres south of parsons green station, a little before am before the area was fully

cordoned off. that is where we have been for the last few hours. and you could see exactly what was happening. we could see people being led away by paramedics to ambulances on the street nearby. injuries varying from people who had just fallen over or burst are going to walk or were in some sort of pain, to more serious injuries, burns, people with their limbs covered in clingfilm and looking in quite a lot of discomfort. and there is a restau ra nt of discomfort. and there is a restaurant nearby people have been taken to. yes, the restaurant opposite the station looks like where people are being treated for injuries and from there and they're being taken to ambulances nearby. there were a lot of people on the platform. i had seen 25 people also injured so farand platform. i had seen 25 people also injured so far and that is the people who have been taken on this side of the station, i have no idea

about the other side of the station. it is quite distressing to see the expressions of the people coming back around, meeting loved ones at the edge of the cordoned off area. the people i saw were understandably incredibly shaken up. a horrible thing to go through on your morning commute. let's go straight to its scotla nd commute. let's go straight to its scotland yard because daniel sanford has the latest. the deputy commissioner, national coordinator for counterterrorism policing, has declared this as a terrorist incident. the working theory is it was a deliberate attack by somebody planting some sort of a device on a london underground tube station at rush hour. this first report of fire or explosion came at 8:20am which is the height of the

london rush—hour. this is now an investigation being led by scotland ya rd investigation being led by scotland yard counterterrorism command, having initially been a british as per police investigation, and the pa rt per police investigation, and the part of this investigation will be two things, want to work out what it was that exploded or caught fire, was that exploded or caught fire, was it some kind of explosive device that didn't quite work or flammable substance set fire to which might explain the whooshing sound and fire boil —— ball people have described. that will be work by friends and experts. and then the second part of the investigation, who was responsible? there is so far nobody in custody and therefore whoever has put these items onto the train which appear to have exploded or caught fire, they are still at large. it is

essentially a manhunt situation across west london, chang to establish whether the person responsible was on the train, which no eyewitnesses seem to be suggesting, or whether it was left on the train. we expecting the next few minutes to year from assistant commissioner mark rowley, one of the most senior counterterrorism officers in the country and we may get more detailfrom him but it is worth emphasising it is only three hours since this incident happened at parsons green and the police themselves will only have a few ideas about what might have happened, no details, forensic work will still have to be done on the device. it is early stages but we might get the first clues about where the investigation is going in the next ten minutes. thank you. matthew price is with me in parsons green. 18 people, just to

reiterate, have been taken to hospital to be treated for injuries but the ambulance service says none of those is life—threatening. what have you established ? of those is life—threatening. what have you established? this is the fifth attack treated as a terrorist attack which has happened in this country in 2017. there were six others the police believe they have thwarted and those are going through the courts at the moment. this is the courts at the moment. this is the fifth attack which is actually happened but the first in which they have not been a loss of life, 36 people were killed in the previous four. if reports from the hospital and eyewitnesses are credible, and we assume they are, it has been somewhat of a lucky escape. we don't think any of those people in hospital have life—threatening injuries. listening to what daniel was saying, and the eyewitness emma who you spoke to about 50 minutes ago, who was on the train, daniel is talking about the possibility of

this bucket which the photos seem to be showing, that has been because of this, we assume, and it was put on the train at some point. your eyewitness emma said most people get on at wimbledon. nobody is in custody at this stage, from the information we get, which leads to the assumption that the bucket was put on the train by somebody and then they got off and left it there or escaped in the crowd once it went off. a packed train and nobody noticed an unattended large parcel sitting there and then it was able to go off. all sorts of implications. it is difficult. you get on these trains in the morning and you can't see your own feet let alone what is going on around you. it is packed. as we have more attacks, that is always in the back of people's mines when they are certainly on the tubes in london but

also in packed modes of transport across the country at times of rush hour. this line is particularly busy, above ground, and we already heard from emma about how many people were trying to get out of the station at the time. just think if this had been below ground as well. with the sort of panic that she was describing, the understandable panic people had, the description of people had, the description of people walking on top of each other, people walking on top of each other, people getting knocked over, i imagine some of the injuries in hospital are because of that, not because of the immediate effects of the blast. yes, there is one staircase out of there. you can imagine the panic and crush. we spoke to witnesses on the tube. another woman who was there and saw some of the claims spoke to us short time ago. i was sitting in the back carriage and suddenly i heard a big bang and i turned left and i saw the fireball

comes towards my side. meanwhile i heard a lady screaming and crying and people very panicked and then i realised what was going on. i got up and ran towards the door. people fell over so people buying to be pushed me and ifell over as fell over so people buying to be pushed me and i fell over as well. so people were going over the top of me. i saw people get burned. in the same carriage? the next carriage. a big fire? yes, it came towards me. i was shocked. didn't blow out the glass? i didn't think about anything, ijust glass? i didn't think about anything, i just tried glass? i didn't think about anything, ijust tried to get up and run. let's speak to a security expert and

get his thoughts. will geddis joins me. from what you have seen, and this is early stages, what do you make of it? certainly, knowing parsons green very well and also the district line and the fact that the tube was heading from wimbledon after paddington, my feeling is that this was a premature detonation on this device. inevitably, the perpetrator was seeking as many potential casualties that allergies as they could, but i don't think this was the ultimate destination, so in some regards, although there are 18 reported casualties that have been taken to hospital, i think this was somewhat of a lucky escape. there have been serious burns, i saw one woman who clearly had been burnt, and flames that came out of what

looked like a white pot. what would have caused that? it's very difficult to say. the authorities will be guarded about detailing what the component parts of this improvised explosive device where and where they will have seen these kind of signatures before. the forensic team will be looking at it intrinsically for its make up, its component parts and whether there we re component parts and whether there were any particular elements that could have been perhaps detected or identified earlier in its construction or acquisition by the perpetrator, and whether they have any kind of controls they could considerfor the future, for assisting access to those kind of components. as we have commonly seen these days, many of the extremists behind these attacks will be able to get everyday objects from hardware stores and compile them together. but it's that composition which is really important to the forensic team, because that will give some

indication of the schooling or trailing behind it. but it is these small incidents like this that people feel the police will be most concerned about, because it's very, very difficult to stop. absolutely. and although the police and that the authorities will be reviewing all the cctv footage they can from wimbledon to determine when the perpetrator joined the wimbledon to determine when the perpetratorjoined the train and also where they are believed to have left, there will also be a widespread appeal to those commuters who were on the train and on the platforms to try and identify any information to who the perpetrator was, but there is again a reiteration to the general public of how important it is that we all play a part in the counterterrorism solution. and like you said yourself, on a busy commuter train, ifa yourself, on a busy commuter train, if a large object gets brought onto

the carriage, you can hardly see your own feet let alone something else. but there will have been people around this device you will have seen it, and certainly, it is about reporting it to the authorities. thank you forjoining me. i'm joined here authorities. thank you forjoining me. i'mjoined here in authorities. thank you forjoining me. i'm joined here in parsons green bya me. i'm joined here in parsons green by a terror expert from nottingham university. good morning. thank you very much forjoining us. what do you make of today's events?” very much forjoining us. what do you make of today's events? i think is an indication that the terrorist threat is still very much alive. we are fortunate that no one seems to have been seriously hurt, there are obviously some minor injuries, which hopefully will be treated and people will recover we hope and pray, without any long—term effects. but what it also indicates is that particular individual lacked fortunately the crazy commitment we have seen from others. they didn't hang around to be arrested or killed, they ran away. i think what

will probably find in the next few hours is that suspects will be identified if not arrested, because the cctv on all of the stations from wimbledon, will more than park, southfields and so on, will have been looked at, and the cctv at parsons green will be analysed, and the individual will probably already be identified, but if not, in the next few minutes or hours, the police will be after that individual fairly swiftly. and i think possibly one of these helicopters above us is looking for potential suspects who might be on the loose, if they have got a description. we have had three police helicopters circling at the same time above this area in south—west london. the white pot we have seen in images, it is substantial, it's fairly big. it substantial, it's fairly big. it substantial inside, and if there had beena

substantial inside, and if there had been a substantial mix blows of inside, the story would have been hugely different. what we're seeing is it is not easy to make bombs that are effective, certainly without professional help. thankfully, in this case, whoever did this failed to achieve what they wanted to achieve. it is what people fear the whole time, londoners, millions of us travel on the tube everyday. it's very much on people's minds. absolutely, and this touches people in different ways. for example, my daughter was on the train that was behind the one that had the explosion. she could easily have beenin explosion. she could easily have been in the carriage where this happened. i was in the train during the 7/7 bombings, several chains behind. so we all understand that this is an attempt to get at us all, to terrify us, but what we have to

do is to accept that thankfully the chances of these maniacs, and i use that word advisedly, succeeding, is very low. and that we have some of the best security services in the world. we have some of the best counterterrorism police services in the world, and we have a system that has kept the threat at a low level. but we do need to think about how we should eliminate this threat and thatis should eliminate this threat and that is looking at the global political situation which feeds the motivation for these horrible incidents. thank you very much for joining me. let'sjust bring you up—to—date with what we know so far. 18 people have been taken to hospital after the incident this morning here at parsons green tube station. it is a district line tube, and the tube this morning was

packed. we understand there was a bang, there was a pause and some people close to its all flames coming towards them. and it obviously sparked panic. the doors of the tube opened and people ran out onto the platform and down on the one single staircase that is the exit point for this station. we spoke to someone who was there earlier, he was hanging onto the stairs as she went down and she was literally talking about people being trampled underfoot. it clearly was chaos, and understandably, people we re very chaos, and understandably, people were very frightened and very scared and wanted to get away from that station as quickly as possible. the london ambulance service has told us that 18 people have been treated, none of those injuries is life—threatening. we have been speaking to people who were on the train and we're going to give very shortly from the metropolitan

police. they have only had three hours to piece together so far what they know. this happened at about 20 past eight this morning. i arrived on the scene very shortly afterwards. it was crowded with police, ambulances, fire services. let's go straight to mark rowley, who is the assistant commissioner.” wa nt who is the assistant commissioner.” want to talk briefly about the incident, about the police response of what we need from the public at this time. firstly, in relation to the incident, at 20 past eight this morning at parsons green tube station, there was an explosion on a tube train. police have attended. we now assess that this was the detonation of an improvised explosive device. as you will have seen the reports of 18 injuries and i understand most of those to be

flash burns. the scene currently remains cordoned off, and the investigation continues. in terms of the police response, as you would expect, well practised command structures have come into shape, and an operation lead and coordinated by the metropolitan police, working with our colleagues from british transport police and others. the investigation is being led by the metropolitan police counterterrorism command, and there are many urgent enquiries is ongoing, with hundreds of detectives involved, looking at cctv, forensic work and speaking to witnesses. this investigation is supported by our colleagues from mi5 and bringing their intelligence expertise to bear on the case. in terms of the police response, i would emphasise that londoners can expect to see an enhanced police presence, particularly across the transport system today. finally, in

respect of what i would ask from the public, firstly, any member of the public, firstly, any member of the public with any information about this incident should please call us asa this incident should please call us as a matter of urgency. any urgent information, call 909. with any other information, they can collars on the anti—terrorism hotline, 0800 789 321. also, anybody with images, often people take photos and film at the scene of such incidents, anyone with images from the incident can contact us. we have a website where they can download the images to, and i've asked broadcasters to run at address over their dignity for the next hour. finally, iwould address over their dignity for the next hour. finally, i would ask londoners to remain vigilant and be alert in assisting us, but not to be alarmed. thank you very much. i'll ta ke alarmed. thank you very much. i'll take a couple of questions. it's

very much alive investigation following the lines of enquiry. it's alive investigation, we are following down the lines of enquiry and mentioned. you have to get the details of the injured from the nhs. the nhs have said at the moment they have 18 people being treated in hospital. thank you very much. that is assistant commissioner mark rowley from the metropolitan police, giving us a very brief update there, but saying it was an improvised explosive device. he understands most of the injuries sustained were flash burns. 18 people taken to hospital, none of those injuries is life—threatening, that's what we've been told. he was talking about the police work involved, the forensic work, combing through cctv, looking for whoever put that device on the district line tube this morning.

daniel is that scotland yard. as you say, a very significant moment there, mark rowley confirming this was an improvised explosive device and describing what happened as an explosion rather than just a fire. so clearly the very early forensic work suggesting that this was an attempt to set off an explosion on a tube train. it is unclear at this stage whether it was an attempt to set upa stage whether it was an attempt to set up a much larger explosion and that somehow failed, or whether this was an attempt to settle the frightening explosion which has caused people relatively minor injuries compared to what we have seenin injuries compared to what we have seen in bomb blasts on the underground in the past. mark rowley describing the injuries to passengers as being flash burns, which is very consistent with what eyewitnesses have said, they describe this fireball, flame going

through the carriage and people being burnt. we've seen descriptions of someone's jacket being badly burned. and then the rest of what he said is kind of what you would expect, that it is an investigation being led by big counterterrorism command of the metropolitan police, working with mis. there are already hundreds of detectives on the case, looking at cctv. crucially, how did this bucket get onto the train? who put it on there? where is that person now? we noticed mark rowley not being able to see if they had someone in custody or whether they had any idea of whether the person who booted on the train was present at the time. incredibly important lines of enquiry and then the usual appeal to the public. incredibly important police investigations, asking people if they were there or

have an idea of what might have happened, not to sit on their hands, but to get on the phone, call the anti—terrorist hotline, let the police know what they know and also to send in pictures and videos. this isa to send in pictures and videos. this is a standard part of the procedure now, police immediately set up a website for people to upload the pictures and videos that the bit on social media or the ones that they have not put on social media, so that the police have a full collection of all the photographs and videos that people have taken and videos that people have taken and a full account from everybody who was present on the train and may have seen a person putting something on the train, because of course, although there is lots of ct tb, very helpful to police officers —— cctv, a lot of the information comes from the public‘s own accounts and the photographs and videos they take. daniel goodare confirming and

reiterating what the police have said, that it was an explosion, an improvised explosive device is what the police are saying, and the injuries sustained there, flash burns for the most part. but none of the injuries this morning when understood to be life—threatening. there where a lot of people on that train this morning. it is not separate carriages, it is all one train, so you can see from one end to the other. you can see and hear what is going on) to the other. you can see and hear what is going on ) that train. this morning, we spoke to sally, who is a teacher who was on board. she did not see the flames, but she heard the panic that followed.” not see the flames, but she heard the panic that followed. i was in the panic that followed. i was in the middle of the train, approximately. just suddenly, i saw people coming towards me. i was sat down, they were running, they were shouting, although i couldn't hear what they were shouting. but i knew something serious was going on, just

by the speed at which people were travelling and the volume of people. luckily, i was sat next to an exit and whatever had happened, had happened as we were coming into the station and the doors opened. ijust ran out as everybody else did. and we we re ran out as everybody else did. and we were still running on the platform, it was pandemonium on the platform. people falling down, because everybody was trying to make an exit. i fell over somebody who had fallen in front of me, but i managed to get myself up and get myself to the side. i kept on running, ididn't myself to the side. i kept on running, i didn't do what i was running, i didn't do what i was running from. until basically we couldn't move out of the station, because i think they had blocked it, so because i think they had blocked it, so there wasjust because i think they had blocked it, so there was just a big congregation of people. at that stage, i didn't know what had happened, but i knew it was serious. people were crying, people were visibly upset. then i heard people saying, explosion, fire. i bumped into my colleague who

was further down the train, who hadn't seen up until that point. she confirmed she had actually seen a surge of fire coming towards her. she had heard a sound before that. she had heard a sound before that. she managed to evacuate as well, as a lot of people did. just by chance, because we were pulling into the station. and then we were evacuated from the station. some very useful eyewitness accounts of what you heard, especially from your colleague. so she headed whoosh. yes, a whoosh rather than a bang. we we re yes, a whoosh rather than a bang. we were lucky that we were unable to get towards an exit, because those we re get towards an exit, because those were open. get towards an exit, because those were open. and did you see anyone who appeared to be injured? on the platform, there were people further down in the carriage and every member talking to a lady who had her

hair badly singed. she got some kind of material over her, as had other people. i saw a man of material over her, as had other people. i sawa man in of material over her, as had other people. i saw a man in who had burns on his arms. i didn't see anything else, because my main concern was also to get out of there. i think people had been injured when they fell. my colleague was injured when she fell. a very difficult thing to have experienced. can i ask you a couple of factual questions to help us understand the chain of events? this was about 20 past eight? can you give a rough idea of the time? probably, maybe about quarter past. i had just missed the previous train, that's why i was one of the first on that train. i think it would have been about quarter past eight. and which direction where you headed in? iwas eight. and which direction where you headed in? i was going from wimbledon to full. that's on the

district line. you didn't hear the sound of any explosion.” district line. you didn't hear the sound of any explosion. i heard nothing, that's why i didn't know what i was running from, ijust knew something had happened, and something had happened, and something serious, for that kind of volume of people to be suddenly running down the carriage with that kind of reaction. so my first instinct was also to get myself out of there and luckily, because the train was coming to a stop. i still don't think, even as the train was coming toa don't think, even as the train was coming to a stop, that people further down the chain knew what was going on. it was a chain of fate, people behind us were allowing the people behind us were allowing the people in front of us, we just got off. did you see any sign of damage to the train itself? no. when i was on the platform, i did have a look, because then i knew it was an explosion. i couldn't see smoke at that stage. but the fire brigade we re that stage. but the fire brigade were coming in, so i knew there must have been far. i could smell it at

that point, but because i couldn't see it, ithought that point, but because i couldn't see it, i thought maybe it was the station. what was the smell like? just the smell of fire burning. what was the response of the station staff, the police, the emergency services? the station staff, the only person i saw was telling us to move off the platform, to get out of there. i don't remember seeing very many people as we were going out of the station. i was panicking, i was trying to help my colleague, because he was limping with her knee. but they were evacuated very, very quickly. a teacher who was on the train at about 20 past eight this morning, when the explosion happened. the area still completely sealed off by police. you can hear one police helicopter still flying above us. at about half past eight, quarter to nine, it was absolutely packed with fire engines, ambulance

and armed police. we were hearing from a nursery for small children, that armed police came into their nursery. the children were already there, and they evacuated the nursery shortly after the explosion took place. we were also hearing from the president of the united states, very early beer, but donald trump has been tweeting already. let's stop to our security correspondent frank gardner. frank, we know from the police this was an explosion, it was an improvised explosive device. there are reports that hardy timer. it could have been a great deal worse. at the present moment, there are no reports of any fragmentation, of any nuts and bolts, the kind of shrapnel we saw in the aftermath of the manchester

‘s explosion at the concert. of course, this was horrific by anybody caught up in it, but looking at it in perspective, compared to manchester, compared to the 7/7 london bombings and compared to madrid in 2004, the latter to which involve multiple devices going off at several locations, coordinated, this was relatively small and relatively amateur. i think the intention was probably to kill and maim a lot more people actually happened. extraordinary that it could have been on the tube floor. i suppose the tube at that time of day was so crowded people didn't notice it. it's a very unusual object in which to hide the bomb. traditionally, it has been a backpack, and a lot of people carry backpacks on the tube. but after the london bombings, that instilled a lot of paranoia in passengers,

understandably. saudi white builder's bucket is an ordinary thing, it's not what you'd expect somebody to leave the bombing, even with a plastic bag. it's not surprising that was overlooked. there are several lines of enquiry here, andi there are several lines of enquiry here, and i think the forensic line of enquiry will probably give us the first clues. that will tell us what the explosive was. the immediate assumption is that it was something like tatp, which is one of the choices for home—made improvised explosive devices. 0nce choices for home—made improvised explosive devices. once they know that, and i would expect the preliminary findings to be shared with cobra, that is the cabinet 0ffice briefing room at one o'clock, which is where the prime minister will share what is known so far. it isa will share what is known so far. it is a sharing exercise global so that the entire police and counterterrorism and military are all brought up to speed and

everybody knows as much as they can. at the moment, there still trying to gather the information together. and of course that is a fear that whoever put that thing they are presumably on purpose, is at large. absolutely. and that's why the police are appealing for anyone with any information at all to come forward and speak to them. and also forward and speak to them. and also for photographs. no doubt people have taken images with their mobile phones, and that is what police want to see. yes, they will want that. 0vertly, that is an ongoing investigation now involving gchq and m15, but investigation now involving gchq and mis, but they will be looking inevitably at targets that they were following. was there any unusual mobile phone communications, any code words, anything like that. that's not something we will know the results of. but these are the kind of attacks that the authorities fear, because they seem just so

difficult to stop. yes, the fewer people involved in planning the attack, the harder they are to stop. 0ne attack, the harder they are to stop. one of the difficult things about the threat scenario in which we live, and the reason why britain is on threat level severe, the second—highest, meaning a terrorist attack is thought to be highly likely, is that it is impossible for the police and intelligence agencies to monitor all the people that they are suspicious of all the time. we know because they've told us that there are 3000 subjects of interest. many of those are not doing anything suspicious for 90% of the time. it's a question of catching them in that 10% when they think the unseen, when they are perhaps having a meeting in a car park or a part of a summing pool and sharing information with somebody, which the police and agencies missed. frank gardner, our

security correspondent, thank you very much. donald trump tweeting from america. another loser terrorist attack, he says. he says, the internet is their main recruitment tool, which we must cut off and use better. that's what he has to say about the attack this morning. that's doctor ben, who was here this morning when all this happened. he lives opposite the station. describe what you saw. it was about half past eight, blue lights and sirens and people running out of the station, so i looked out of the window. there was already a huge response by about 20 to nine. it was chaos at first until war police started arriving, which brought moral order to the scene. we we re brought moral order to the scene. we were standing outside our house, just opposite the station, and they ke pt just opposite the station, and they kept telling us to go inside, they

we re kept telling us to go inside, they were not sure what was going on. when we saw things on twitter, we realised it was worse. people were taken to be treated, and then we saw people with burns, people with medical clingfilm, whatever litters. some of them looked quite severe. there was one lady who had it all over face, she was stretchered out. it looked like that was as bad as it got, but it was still quite terrifying to see them running out of the station, panic all over the place. people didn't know what to do. how many people were there?” don't know, theyjust came pouring out of the exit as i open the shutters. they got moved on quite quickly and disbursed. it was all manage very quickly and disbursed. it was all manage very well, but yes, quite a lot of people. a huge police presence, armed police, everything. yes, armed police walking around, at

least two vans of them came around. they had helmets and guns already to go. there was a lot more police on the site afterwards, but eventually, became wrote knocking on our doors and gave us a bit of time to pack some stuff up and evacuate the area. so you're out your home now? yes, we're not sure when were allowed to go we're not sure when were allowed to go back in yet, but they said some time this evening, they should've got cleared up and got more sorted. but until that time, we're walking about. thank you very much. that is the latest from parsons green this morning after that attack. an explosive device that went off on a district line train here at parsons green. it had just pulled into the station when it went off. a bang and then the people on board reported hearing a pause and then seeing fla mes hearing a pause and then seeing flames heading towards them. people have been burnt, 18 people have been taken to hospital, but london

ambulance are saying none of those injuries are life—threatening. continuing coverage of this throughout the day on bbc news. from me for now, goodbye. this is bbc news. the headlines at midday. 18 people are injured in this morning's terrorist incident on a tube in west london. hundreds of detectives are involved in the investigation. we now assess that this was a get a nation of an improvised explosive device. as you will have seen in the reports, there are 18 injuries, most of those are flash burns. pictures show a white bucket inside a carrier bag with a number of wires visible. people fled in terror as they tried to escape from the scene, with reports some were trampled upon. there was a fireball above my head,

singed my hair, i have burnt marks on my head, and everyone ran off the train and it was quite scary. i turned left and i saw the fireball come towards my side. meanwhile i heard a lot of ladies screaming and crying. there is a huge police investigation going onjust there is a huge police investigation going on just up the road there is a huge police investigation going onjust up the road behind me here at parsons green tube station but we also know there are currently going through lots of cctv footage to try to work out who did this. police say they are treating an explosion on an underground train

in south—west london as a terrorist incident. 18 people were hospitalised with witnesses reporting seeing passengers "badly burned'. none of their injuries are believed to be life—threatening. the blast happened on a district line train at parsons green station packed with commuters, at about 8.20 at the height of the rush hour. police say an improvised explosive device detonated. pictures from inside the tube show a white container inside a supermarket bag, on fire, with wires or lights protruding from it. the blast doesn't appear to have caused extensive damage, but eye witnesses have described seeing a "wall of flame". armed police officers and a hazardous area response team are at the scene. matthew price is at the scene. the focus must be on looking at cctv

and talking to witnesses to try to establish who left that device in the carriage. yes, and it appears it was left in the carriage. eyewitnesses are talking about a packed london underground train, aboveground at the point this explosion went off, because parsons green station runs along the top of the tracks, outside, before it then goes down into tunnels heading towards central london. 0ne into tunnels heading towards central london. one person on the train this morning told us it was absolutely packed, as usual, with people like sardines. a lot of people get on a few stations are a little way down the line from here at wimbledon and it is at that point the train. so it would have been possible for someone to have put that bucket on the train and left at there. the police are not saying there are signs this

device could be controlled from outside the train, it was a device set and ready to go off, it seems. 0ur security correspondent earlier told us that it is believed to be a home—made device and one with a timer. it was clearly set up and not to be exploded by an individual but it was a device that was set to go off at it was a device that was set to go offata it was a device that was set to go off at a particular time. the police told us this morning that they have hundreds of officers, as you would expect, working on this. they will be examining the scene. they will also be looking through cctv footage because they will want to work out who put this device on the train, whether that person or people left the train and where they are now. there is obviously a hunt going on in london right now for the person behind this attack. we will get

right up to date with a report. jane frances kelly reports. the incident took place at the heart of the rush hour in a packed train capable of holding 800 people. eyewitnesses say the explosion took place at parsons green station. passengers were crushed underfoot as people tried to escape. those standing close to the burning device received burns to their face and body. bad injuries. our ten-year-old boy, his leg pretty badly injured. why? why parsons green? all those questions why. i heard the loudest, scariest screams coming from what sounded like the carriage next to us and men shouting to run so we ran for our lives and we didn't know why. commuters, some covers in bits

of ash, pointed and said the carriage to a white bucket on fire in our supermarket bag. close up shots show wires coming out of the explosive device. residents living nearby were told to leave their homes as a precaution. we could hear screaming while we were inside the building, in ourliving screaming while we were inside the building, in our living room. we we re building, in our living room. we were evacuated from our building where we lived. it is just opposite the train station, very close. the london ambulance service says it sent a hazardous area response team to the scene. police are treating it asa to the scene. police are treating it as a terrorist incident with specialist units and the fire brigade in attendance. the investigation is being led by the metropolitan police counterterrorism command, parts of the national counterterrorism policing network, and there are many urgent ongoing enquiries with hundreds of detectives involved, looking at cctv, forensic work and speaking to witnesses. this investigation is

supported by our colleagues from mis and bringing their intelligence expertise to bear on the case. britain has suffered four attacks blamed on terrorists so far this year. in 2005, 52 people were killed when four suicide bombers carried devices onto three underground trains and a bus. the foreign secretary appealed for calm. everyone should keep calm and cool about their lives as normally as they possibly can. as far as i understand, the british transport police and transport for london are on itand police and transport for london are on it and will update their website with more information. the prime minister will chair a meeting of bryn's emergency response committee, cobra, this afternoon, and says her thoughts are with those injured at parsons green. there have been several helicopters

above me at the scene and there is one above me right now. police are keeping an extensive u. 18 people treated in hospital and the police are describing their injuries as flash burns. we do not believe that this stage anyone has been seriously injured. let's talk to charlie craven. you were on the train this morning when this happened. perhaps just describe what you saw, what you heard. we go to parsons green everyday, on the end carriage, on purpose, to avoid these incidents. we literally just stepped purpose, to avoid these incidents. we literallyjust stepped on, put my bag down, and within three orfour seconds i heard an explosion. turned around and saw what i can only describe as a movie fireball coming down the train. it engulfed from the top to the bottom. then i saw a

state of calm for a split second and then total panic. the doors had just shut and then they opened again and eve ryo ne shut and then they opened again and everyone piled out of the train. the explosion, from where i was standing, must have been three or $4 down, not far away at all. a carriage we may be normally get on as well. you were 20 metres or so away? did you feel it? yes, i felt the heat definitely. ifelt away? did you feel it? yes, i felt the heat definitely. i felt the explosion, the noise and the bank, and the seat that came with it made you just get away from it as fast as you just get away from it as fast as you can. could you sum up what happens in your mind at that moment? 100%. you panic, you feel like you're going to die, and you run as fast as you can away from the scene. micro friend was with me at the time, we got pushed against the

railings. i managed to protect, because i thought there are potentially could be a gunman. we jumped over the railings and ran as fast as we could with eight or nine other people down in the sidings and down the track away from the station. away from the incident. then we slid down a hedgerow and into someone's that garden with high fences, just to hide. it wasn't until we heard the fire brigade and other services arrived, which must have been three or four minutes, very quick response, and then i appeared from the bushes to see what was going on. there was smoke coming out the top of the train. people we re out the top of the train. people were still pushed against the platform railings but the emergency services had arrived and were dealing with it. in total state of shock. until you have been through

it you do not understand what it is like. i remember talking to someone after the manchester attack and she described her and her daughter hiding for a good few hours afterwards. it doesn't sound like you were doing it for that long. we we re you were doing it for that long. we were the last ones to be taken off out of the station because we were a yearfor out of the station because we were a year for that long. your safety is paramount. we had buying some train shutters, because they were metal, in the hope that if something happened then the metal and wood would protect us. we were probably about 300 yards from where it happened, as far as we did, because we didn't want to go on the live track does may have been another train coming. it sounds like you thought about this. he said at the start of the interview that he had actually made the decision to go to the back carriage and you thought it would be safer. i never travel in the middle of any train in london after the terrorist attacks. it is a

decision on my girlfriend and i made and we stick to it now. even when we go to restaurants we always look at where the nearest exit is and where we could hide. it is such a sad world we have to live in but you have to make those plans. we never thought we would have to put that plan into place at parsons green but you have to because you never know what is going to happen. we never thought casually going to work on a friday, plans tonight, that a bomb would go off. total shock. how are you feeling at the moment? presumably adrenaline is still flowing. yes. totally shocked. we came down for a walkjust to put it into context what has happened, because we were dragged out by police and escorted off, people were crying everywhere and not knowing what was happening. i went to my brother's house the road so i wanted to come back down to re—evaluate what is going on. but it hasn't

really helped so we are going to leave london after this to her pa re nts' leave london after this to her parents' house. it is sounds like you are doing the right things to come to terms with it. i wish you and your boyfriend all the best. horrible —— girlfriend all the best. a horrible thing. that is a very vivid eyewitness description. i can see charlie walking off with his girlfriend now, hand—in—hand, obviously still very shocked. let's go to the police headquarters where our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford is. we got an update on how the police are treating this and what evidence they are trying to gather. they reasonably have a manhunt on. —— presumably have.

yes, mark rowley said it is being treated as a terrorist incident. he described an explosion on a london underground train at parsons green, believed to because by an improvised explosive device. there is a military helicopter overhead at the moment. they say it was an improvised explosive device. he said the passengers on the train appear to have been injured by what he called flash burns. we believe 18 people have been taken to hospital to be treated. i can also tell you that at the moment police believe this device was triggered by some kind of time. they don't believe the person who set off the device was present on that london underground tube carriage but it was a time device, something quite new in recent yea rs. device, something quite new in recent years. the ira used timers a lot but it is not something we have seen a great deal of in recent

terrorist attacks in the uk. the fa ct‘ terrorist attacks in the uk. the fact‘ and a timer means that the critical work that needs to be done by detectives is all around the cctv cameras at the other stations along the line. what can they take from the line. what can they take from the cctv from all the other underground stations to try to work out who it was who put this device on the train. they can be assisted by the ticketing system, 0yster cards and contactless cards may give some kind of clue who might have placed the device on the train with the timer. some london underground trains also have cctv in the carriage and so that might be of assistance. we have seen that in terrorist investigations in the past. cameras on the actual underground carriage being able to assist. thank you very much for that. while you were talking we got new figures

on the number of people injured. 0r being treated in hospitals. 18 people were taken to hospital following the explosion just up the road, by ambulance. four have also taken themselves to hospital so it is now 22 people being treated for injuries as a direct result of this explosion. let's hear a little bit from the mayor of london, city can. —— sadiq khan. we have the best police and security services in the world who are working incredibly hard every day. british transport police, the met police, counterterrorism experts, m15, but police, counterterrorism experts, mis, but also excellent work by the transport rwandan stuff, is something we should be incredibly proud of. you will now see an investigation run its course. there are various things i can't discuss publicly but i can reassure the

publicly but i can reassure the public that the police and security services and others are working their socks off to make sure those responsible for this attack are caught and see justice. is there a danger of becoming overwhelmed by the sheer level of the threat?” think the police have already said, and the phrase i would remind londoners about, this is not a spike but a shift in relation to terrorists attacking cities in the western world. we have to be vigilant and make sure we are alert. if anyone has any information at all please ring 999 or the counterterror hotline. zero 800, 789, 321. it is the best we can do to keep us safe but i will not apologise for saying

we need more resources and police in london. the police work very hard but we could do with more resources. the mayor of london giving his response. just beyond the police va ns response. just beyond the police vans at parsons green chip station. really, the mayor of london reiterated the message coming from the police. they are appealing for any eyewitnesses who have information to get in contact with the police. as we said at the beginning of the programme, and as our home affairs correspondence said, there is a hunt in london at the moment because police believe somebody put this device on the train and has then left the train at some point. there is nobody we have been told about who is in custody and hundreds of officers are going

through cctv footage to try to work out as fast as they can who did this and where they might be. there is also the political response to this. there will be a meeting of the cobra emergency committee at 1pm. let's go to the cabinet offer is where our political correspondence is. terry is a is on the way back from her constituency to chair the meeting of the —— theresa may is honourable way back to chair at that meeting in less than an hour. it co nve nes meeting in less than an hour. it convenes in times of national emergency as a response. it rings together government, civil service, police, security officials, and of the mayor of london will also attend the mayor of london will also attend the meeting, chaired by the prime minister. they will be updated on the investigation and the prime

minister has already been receiving updates. and the intelligence services will be giving an update on whether they think this is linked in any way to the previous terror attacks we have seen in the uk this year. the prime minister has already said her thoughts are with those injured at parsons green, and the emergency services bravely responding. the home secretary amber rudd said she is grateful to the swift response and it is important to the police and security services can get on with theirjob. jeremy corbyn also praised the emergency services for their response. at the moment it is getting together government and officials so they can be fully briefed on the latest in the investigation. thank you very much. we will come back to you as the day progresses as

that cobra meeting gets underway. i wa nt to that cobra meeting gets underway. i want to bring you a portion of what the assistant commissioner to the met the assistant commissioner to the m et ca rlto n the assistant commissioner to the met carlton police —— met police said earlier. let's go the mark rowley, assistant commissioner. i want to give you an update. i want to talk briefly about the incident, the police response, and what we need from the public. firstly, as you have reported, at 8:20am at parsons green tube station there was an explosion on a tuesday train. police have attended. we assess this was a destination of an improvisation —— detonation of an improvised exports of device. 18 injuries and i understand most of those free flash burns. the scene

remains cordoned off and the investigation continues. in terms of police response, as you would expect, well practised command structures have come into shape and an operation lead and coordinated by the met police working with british transport police and others. the investigation is being led by their met police counterterrorism command and part of the national counterterrorism policing network and there are many urgent enquiries on going with hundreds of detectives looking at cctv, friends and work and speaking to witnesses. this investigation is supported by our collea g u es investigation is supported by our colleagues from mis, bringing intelligence expertise to bear on the case. finally in terms of police response, i would emphasise that londoners can expect to see an enhanced police presence across transport system across the day. finally in respect of what i would

ask from the public, firstly any member of the public with any information about this incident should please call us as a matter of urgency, urgent information call 999, and they can call us with background information on all 800, 79, three 21. 0ften background information on all 800, 79, three 21. often people take photos and film at such incidents and anyone with such footage can contact us. there is a website they can download images to i will ask broadcasters to run that over the next hour. finally i asked the public to remain vigilant across london and to be alert but not alarmed. the assistant commissioner of the metropolitan police in london, talking earlier. giving some

details and making that appeal for people who might have images on their phones that they believe are releva nt to their phones that they believe are relevant to get in contact with them through the police website and we will bring you the website address a little bit later on. let's bring in stephen farrell, another person who was on the train. we have heard from a few was on the train. we have heard from afew in was on the train. we have heard from a few in the last few hours. he joins us on the telephone line. how are you feeling? i am fine. it was an incredibly scary few minutes when we got into the station but i am fine andi we got into the station but i am fine and i think we have to look at the fact the majority of the people involved at a very busy station in the middle of rush hour are absolutely fine so i think we have to ta ke absolutely fine so i think we have to take comfort from that. there you we re to take comfort from that. there you were on the train itself, can you tell us where were you in relation to the conclusion and at that moment perhaps describe what happened?”

was probably about halfway along the train and it was the usual packed commuter train at that time in the morning. as we pulled into parsons green and the doors began to open the station platform was packed and suddenly everyone on the platform started to try to run back towards the stairs, one set of stairs that goes up onto the platform, in and out of parsons green. screaming and trying to run back towards the stars. the sheer volume of people meant people couldn't really move. we had no idea what had happened, i heard someone shout about a bomb, i heard someone shout about a bomb, i heard someone shout about a bomb, i heard someone say there were people fighting. i tried to run towards the stairs but there were too many people so i went to the front of the train and everyone on the platform was going and trying to get as close

as they could do the back of the train away from what was happening. it was scary, people were crying and screaming, phoning their loved ones and all those things. there was a period of probably about two minutes where we didn't know what was happening. then the situation began to become more calm and within a few minutes the emergency services were on the platform but that period where there was a crush and people we re where there was a crush and people were knocked over was very scary. you are describing the opposite flow from what we heard at the beginning of this half—hour. 0ne from what we heard at the beginning of this half—hour. one man on the train said he was on the back of the train said he was on the back of the train and a group of others ran off down the track and head. i wonder what you did when you got out of the station was back charlie said there might have been worry about another

attack. i can understand that. it sounds like he was at the opposite end of the train. in that situation all you can do is... for one thing thatis all you can do is... for one thing that is the only exit. and then you also have to follow the advice of the emergency services. people were actually going down the stairs and out of the station in an orderly fashion. i saw a few people who would like they had been injured in the crush. i wouldn't overplay that. by the crush. i wouldn't overplay that. by the time i got to the bottom of the stairs the roads were closed and the stairs the roads were closed and the emergency services were there. whilst there was panic and there we re whilst there was panic and there were people fearing for their lives, myself included, it is amazing physique that in that moment where people are so terrified that they are comforting each other, there was

are comforting each other, there was a boy next to me on the train, billy 14 or 15, a boy next to me on the train, billy 14 or15, in a boy next to me on the train, billy 14 or 15, in floods of tears. —— probably 14 or 15. probably the scariest moment of my life and it was really something.” scariest moment of my life and it was really something. i think it is something that you notice in a lot of places, unfortunately, when these incidents happen. you spoke at the start about how we shouldn't overplay the incident and yet clearly a lot of people have been alarmed. i wonder, clearly a lot of people have been alarmed. iwonder, and maybe it clearly a lot of people have been alarmed. i wonder, and maybe it is too early to ask the question, but if this is the sort of thing where it is this close to home, whether you believe it would impact the way that you travel around london in future? well, look, you are in that moment and you're wondering if you will see your children again and you don't know what has gone to come towards you. unfortunately it has

become something which is notjust in london but other major cities, it has become a way of life. you just hope one day you're not one of the in one of those situations where random horrible things happen. in terms of changing the way i live my life, no, it can't. next time ago in the tube, which will be very soon, i'm surei the tube, which will be very soon, i'm sure i will be extra wary and follow the advice we get from the police and security authorities, but we can't let it change how we live our lives. this is a great city were 99.9% of the people care for each other, want to live peacefully. it isa other, want to live peacefully. it is a cliche to say to not let them win and that sort of thing but the minute we adjust our lives, it is going in the wrong direction, i think this city has shown its resilience. i think many people

listening and watching would agree with you on that. thank you for joining us. i hope that you continue to react in a positive fashion to what happened to you this morning because as much as you might be inclined to downplay it, these things have an impact. let's get some analysis from chris phillips, former head of the national counter security office. thank you for joining us. from what we know at this stage, what do you think this device was and designed to do and do you have any speculation about why it might have been put there? certainly, from what i've heard, there was a time involved, which makes me think it wasn't a suicide

attack, it's someone that has planted a device. it does look very obvious, and it looks quite suspicious, actually, even before it exploded, so that makes you think they may not be particularly skilful at what they have done. and the fact that the bomb has not exploded has probably meant that the device itself, so the mixture they have made the bomb out of, has not been mixed properly audit is slightly out of date. and that's meant that the bomb has not work properly. but any device like that left only two is potentially lethal and what i would see the most important thing is now that people are really alert and if they see anything that looks remotely suspicious, they reported, because of one of these things does detonate properly, then it is absolutely terrible. and yet we keep going on about this, but it is true. if you're travelling on large parts of the underground network at that

time of day, peak commuter time, the train is absolutely packed. you can barely see your waistband, let alone your feet, and one barely see your waistband, let alone yourfeet, and one wonders barely see your waistband, let alone your feet, and one wonders whether whoever put this device onto the train would have been well aware of that and thought to themselves, i can put it on and no one will notice it. of course, there is nothing much we can do to stop that happening, it is easy to do that. what i would say is easy to do that. what i would say is that the obvious nature of the package, there will be many packages like that on the tube line today, will make this person highly identifiable. i'd be very surprised if we don't see cctv pictures of whoever planted it on our television screens by this evening. that's really important, because the sooner we can identify the person and bring them into custody, the less likelihood of other people dying. remember, if you months ago, a device not dissimilar to this was

left on a tube train, it was left by someone suffering from autism and know that person is sitting in one of our prisons. so this does not necessarily lead us to think it is islamic terrorism. it could be someone with something else. but the great news is that every tube station that feeds that chip line has excellent cctv cameras. i am sure that someone walking around with a bag that will have been recognisable by other members of the public, so hopefully, we'll get to grips with who this person is fairly quickly. it may even be the case that the police already have a pretty good steer on that, given the number of officers they have working on that and looking through the images. to go back to your first answer, you were talking about the relative lack of sophistication to the device. 0ur security

correspondent was earlier saying to us that doesn't appear that there we re us that doesn't appear that there were any nuts and bolts in there, so no shrapnel to increase the damage and injury is done to people. bearing in mind the number of bomb—making manuals we know about the online, that might lead us to start assuming this was someone who was having a go, but who perhaps didn't have access to all of those resources we do other attackers in the past have had access to. he was right to say that if a bomb has nuts and bolts, we call the dockyard confetti, that would be much more of a killer. the bomb explosion in an underground carriage when the doors are shut is absolutely lethal. so that would make a huge amount of difference. and we do actually have a number, if you speak to the fire brigade, there are a number of people during the course of the year who actually blow the hands of making explosives, because they have

learned online how to do that. not necessarily terrorists. but if you leave an explosive device of any kind ona leave an explosive device of any kind on a tube line, then the only thing that will do is kill and maim individuals. we'll leave it there, thank you very much indeed for joining us on bbc news this afternoon. a quick recap of the stories today. an explosion on a chip train which took place just an explosion on a chip train which took placejust behind an explosion on a chip train which took place just behind those buildings. it was aboveground, and eyewitnesses we've been speaking to all morning described scenes of panic, certainly brought a couple of minutes after that explosion went off in, we think, the rear of the train. it was a train that was heading from wimbledon into central

london. it was absolutely packed, the explosion happened at about 20 past eight in the morning. eyewitnesses describing first an explosion, then feeling the blast and seeing the flames come down the carriage and then they left, they left through the platform and the streets which i believe you are now seeing from the aerial footage we're getting in from this scene at the moment. there are a lot of police vehicles around, ambulances and others. and the police have told us as mine that they are now using hundreds of officers to scour through cctv footage, trying to find who did this, trying to track them down and find out where they might be at this moment. let's get this update now from my colleaguejane francis kelly. the incident took place at the height of the rush—hour in a packed train capable of carrying more than

800 people. witnesses say what sounded like an explosion happened when the tube train was at parsons green station. passengers were crushed underfoot as they tried to escape. those standing closer to the burning device received burns to the face and body. bad injuries, like a ten—year—old boy, whose leg was pretty badly injured. why? why parsons green? all those questions. we just heard the loudest, scariest screams coming from what sounded like the carriage right next to us and loud men shouting, run. when people showed that, you run, we ran for lies and you don't know why. commuters, some covered in flakes abashed, pointed to a bucket inside abashed, pointed to a bucket inside a supermarket bag. close—ups through wires coming out of the device. residents living nearby were told to leave their homes as a precaution.

we could hear screaming while we we re we could hear screaming while we were inside the building. we were in our living room. we were evacuated from a building where we live. it is just opposite the train station. the london ambulance service says it has sent a hazardous substance response tea m sent a hazardous substance response team to the station. police are treating it as a terrorist incident, with specialist units on the barbie in attentions. investigation is being led by the counterterrorism command of the metropolitan police and that many urgent enquiries is ongoing, with hundreds of detectives involved, looking at cctv, forensic work and speaking to witnesses. this investigation is supported by our colleagues on mi5 and bringing the intelligence expertise to bear on the case. britain has suffered for attacks blamed on terror lists this year. in 2005, abel were killed when

four suicide bombers carry devices onto three london underground trains and a bus. the foreign secretary appealed for calm. obviously, everyone should keep calm and go about their lives as normally as they can. as far as i understand, they can. as far as i understand, the transport police and transport for london are on it and they will be updating their websites as and when we get more information. the prime minister will chair a meeting of britain's emergency response committee cobra this afternoon, and says her thoughts are with those injured at parsons green. that emergency cobra meeting due to start in around 20 minutes. we will be bringing you any information we get out of that as we get it. i just wa nt to get out of that as we get it. i just want to give you a sense of the geography here. the place and standing is the limit the police will allow us to go. if you walk straight up there for about two minutes, you will get to parsons

green tube station. it's a part of the tube network that is overground. so the explosion would have happened almost literally in that line of sight there, at the end of the tube train. at the moment, there are a lot of police around, looking at the scene of the explosion, but perhaps at this precise moment in time, more importantly than that, there are, as the assistant met commissioner told us earlier, there are hundreds of police officers being brought in, many of them scouring cctv footage. what they believe has happened is that someone has put that home made explosive device onto the train and then possibly left the train at that moment in time. there was a time, bbc sources understand. there was a timer set to go off. as we heard a few moments ago from one of our experts, it does not look as if this was any of suicide attempt, it was

based around a device that had been primed to go off at a particular moment in time choosing the commute. hundreds of people on that train, a packed train. one of those people earlier gave us this eyewitness account of what happened.” earlier gave us this eyewitness account of what happened. i was sitting in the back carriage. and suddenly i heard a big bang. and i turned left and i start the fireball surge towards my side. meanwhile, i heard a lot of ladies screaming and crying, and people very panicky. at that time, i realised what was going on. i got up and ran towards the door. people in front of me felt over, so people at the back of me, pushed me, so i fell over on as well. so people where on top of me. i saw people get burned. was this in

the same carriage? next to the carriage. a big fireball came towards me. that's why was shocked. did it blow out the glass? i didn't think about anything, i just got up and ran. she was one of those on the train. earlier this hour, we heard from a guy called charlie craven, he was very from a guy called charlie craven, he was very close to the explosion when it took place. he described how he and his girlfriend at the group of others had jumped off the platform and ran down the tracks and hidden in some nettles, you described it as, once they'd slipped down the embankment on which the train tracks are. the majority of people went the other way when the explosion happened. they ran down the platform and because it's a small station, they had to squeeze themselves down a stairway to get to the ticket barriers and then out onto the

streets around parsons green. earlier, my colleagues sophie spoke to people who had escaped that way. emma and kate described to sophie what happened when matt explosion took place. i got on the train, and within five seconds, the door is where closing. then we heard the loudest, scariest screams coming from what sounded like the carriage right next to us, and loud men shouting, run. we ran for our lives and we didn't know why. we didn't hearan and we didn't know why. we didn't hear an explosion. i thought as it had been thrown around, i was wondering why. we got to the steps and it was the worst. it was a human crush that we got stuck in. there we re crush that we got stuck in. there were women underneath me, there was a lady saying, i'm pregnant. there was a little boy whose face got smacked into the step. i was holding on to the railing in a fatal position, trying not to crush anybody. there were people

screaming, it was really true matic, and we didn't know why we were running. i thought, and we didn't know why we were running. ithought, maybe and we didn't know why we were running. i thought, maybe this is worse, maybe this is all a big mistake and someone has a phone that has exploded in their pocket. it was awful. i'm so lucky and not injured. i'd put trainers on this morning, i feel so lucky that i wasn't the two women underneath me. anyone who doesn't know the station, it is very small, that is one staircase that comes from the platform. there are two small exits, there is no escalator. there's nothing, and everybody who gets in district line knows everyone gets on at wimbledon. you are like sardines trying to get m, you are like sardines trying to get in, so hundreds of people came off that train into a tiny station to go down tiny steps and it was a com plete down tiny steps and it was a complete crush. and you would literally trampling people underfoot. yes, there were layers of

people underneath me. and the guys who work for the underground, there we re who work for the underground, there were only two of them, which makes me think we should have more people, they were shouting get back, because people underneath when injured. i was so lucky i was in this little pockets, i felt so strong. was so lucky i was in this little pockets, ifelt so strong. but was so lucky i was in this little pockets, i felt so strong. but for a second,it pockets, i felt so strong. but for a second, it went through my mind, i am going die today. i thought maybe behind me that someone with a knife ora behind me that someone with a knife or a bomb. behind me that someone with a knife ora bomb. iwas behind me that someone with a knife or a bomb. i was looking at the women underneath me, thinking, you poor thing. i was wondering if someone had broken a leg. could no one get to help them? no, it was like hillsborough, they were stacked, people on top of each other. hundreds of people running down a tiny staircase, you're just going to have lots of layers of bodies and people. and this poor little boy in his red and black uniform, and he'd smashed his face and he was screaming and crying. by the time we all could come out, he

was being carried by someone and he was being carried by someone and he was crying. i watch round and said, are you 0k, to a few people. everyone was really shaken and we didn't know what has happened. we just knew we ran away because we we re just knew we ran away because we were told to run away and then there was this big crash. katie, you weren't there, but you live right next door, seesawed from your home. yes, i was coming back and i next door, seesawed from your home. yes, iwas coming back and i heard screams, so i was looking out to sea where they were coming from. there isa where they were coming from. there is a school round there and sometimes a lot of noise. i looked up sometimes a lot of noise. i looked up the track on the train wasn't moving. it looked that people were still getting on, then people were getting. then a lady ran into the cause and asked for some are safe to go. she had lost her shoes. so we we nt go. she had lost her shoes. so we went into my flat and we were trying to piece it together. she hadn't heard a noise, she just seen lots of children and people trying to get off the train. i think she had

stepped foot on the train and then ran off. other people hadn't realised they were still trying to get on the train. so she was in my flat and then shortly afterwards, the police came through and told us all to evacuate, so we had to get out quite quickly. they had cordoned off the few meters down from the tensions. dennis —— down from the entrance. did you see anyone who was injured? i didn't see anyone who was injured, but people were saying they had heard is short and we could smell a bit of burning, but none of my neighbours that i've spoken to had even heard an explosion. we could smell something. what did the lady who had lost her shoes say to you? she was very alert and she was fine, but obviously very distressed, she didn't know what had happened and was very worried about the

people who hadn't managed to get out. she got out quite quickly and she said she jumped over the barriers. she had got away, but there were lots of people she could see one in that situation. lots of children in school uniform as well, which was truly heartbreaking, because they were so little and fragile. it is peak commuter town. you were on the train, but you didn't see the flames or heard the bang. now, no one heard an explosion. what we heard was what sounded like the carriage next to us all screaming, bloodcurdling scream of seeing something horrible happening. we brought all to run, so we got. the doors opened and we just ran. that was emma, who was at parsons green station and katie, a local resident speaking to the bbc just a little earlier. with me now in the studio as we continue our

coverage of this attack is our security correspondent frank gardner. frank, you have breaking news to bring us about the national threat level, which is under review as we speak. yes, you would expect this. gtech, which is thejoint terrorism analysis centre, which sits inside m15 headquarters, they are constantly reviewing it. because it looks like the person who placed this device survived it and is at large, inevitably, they will be reviewing whether to raise the national threat level from severe, which is the second highest to what is called critical core meaning imminent. they haven't raised it, but it was raised immediately after the manchester bombing, because then it was thought that the bomber had used a device made by a separate person, a bomb maker. whoever placed this device it is thought probably survived it and is therefore at

large. it would be logicalfor them to raise it to critical. that is one thing. the actual device itself, we are starting to learn a bit more about this. it looks like it was only partially successful device. i hate to use the word successful, it is horrible, but an explosives expert i spoke to said this was essentially a gleeful accretion rather than a destination, meaning it caught fire rather than exploding. so there were burns under flash, but there was not a big blast that would have everybody next to it. so this is looking a similar field mixed explosive, in the way that the fields devices that didn't go off after the london bombings in 2007, because the makes deployment. had it gone off as intended, the

injuries would have been much worse, bad as they are. this is little consolation to the people caught up in it, who were injured by it, but yes, it looks like this device, had it succeeded, would have been far worse. we have not had an official announcement sheds from the met on this. the forensics people are looking at this. they will already know, in a few minutes time, cobra are having a meeting in whitehall, where they will pull all daily information they know. the prime minister is cheering that, and there will be an initial report on the forensics. almost certainly, it looks like some kind of organic peroxide has been used, either home—made explosive, but he or she got it wrong. how likely do think it is police will be able to apprehend whoever left this device quickly? because people must seen someone

carrying this tub, the sort of top they wood buyouts are builders merchant or diy shop, filled with pain. and you have the cctv from the station. london is probably the most cctv in tens of capital in the world, so i think it will be hours at most before they have a description and a picture of who they think was carrying this. we still don't know the motive, and i think it's important to say, there is so far no kind ofjubilation on jihadist chapter network things, the public forums, no one is claiming theyit public forums, no one is claiming they it yet. there has been a certain amount of rebroadcasting of media reports on it and obviously jihadists and ices supporters are thrilled by anything that hurts their enemies, but nobody so far is saying, we did it. we have to keep an open mind about the motives of the person who did this. it's clearly a n the person who did this. it's clearly an explosive device, it was

designed to maim and kill and it didn't google quickly to plan. and parsons green may not have been the intended targets, we just don't know that. i don't know that. if what they were after was news headlines, they were after was news headlines, they got it. thankfully no one has serious injuries, but this was a device which only functioned halfway. and to recapture that you are lying, the national threat level is being assessed currently as corporate prepares to meet. that is correct, but that is not an official announcement, that is something i can share with you. frank gardner, our security correspondent. thank you very much. we are going to take the time to bring you one other important story today, one we haven't touched on as yet because of our coverage of the terrorist incident, but one of the longest

voyages incident, but one of the longest voyages in space exploration is about to come to an end, because the cassini probe will destroy itself in the next few minutes after spending almost 20 years in space. it's about to co m plete almost 20 years in space. it's about to complete its mission and then plunge into saturn's atmosphere at a mind—boggling 76,000 mph. but right up mind—boggling 76,000 mph. but right up till the moment it burns up, it will gather beatings and data of the chemical composition of the planet's gases. so the mission will be squeezing every last possible piece of data from cassini until the point at which it vaporises. these are live images of mission control in pasadena. this is the nasa jet propulsion laboratory in pasadena, california, where scientists are monitoring the descent to saturn. let's just listen and see what we can here. we havejust had

let's just listen and see what we can here. we have just had the new mode and we will see is accumulating quickly. and we are in the atmosphere. thank you. go ahead. we can confirm what theyjust told you. thank you. so it sounds as though that final descent is beginning for cassini. remember, it took seven years to travel the 2 billion miles to saturn, and has spent the last 13 yea rs saturn, and has spent the last 13 years monitoring the planet, its atmosphere, a journey of discovery

yielding a huge amount of data. this is when it was launched, 20 years ago, embarking that seven—year journey to the planet, before the job of collecting so much data could begin. and now, as it enters saturn's atmosphere, scientists are hoping to get that last bit of data on the chemical composition of the planet's gases, just before it loses radio contact with earth. plunging through saturn's atmosphere at 76,000 mph and then quickly heating up 76,000 mph and then quickly heating up and vaporising in that heat. basically, the mission ending, because cassini is running low on fuel, and rather than have an uncontrolled probe drifting aimlessly around the outer solar

system, the us space agency is bringing it to this controlled ends, the ends of a really remarkable mission, during which it has found new moons orbiting saturn and huge underground oceans on the planet as well. in a moment, we will have the years at one, live at the scene of the london tube explosion, but first, there is the weather forecast with lucy martin. we do have any area of high pressure moving through, and we will see fewer showers, with sunday looking like the best a fresh dry weather. earlier, showers in wales and the

south—west. as we move through this afternoon, we will start to see the showers getting going. in northerly breeze, so it's not feeling particularly warm. the showers could be fairly persistent across east anglia this afternoon. if you showers still across the south west and wales. across england and wales, the showers could be heading off for a rumble of thunder. the further north you are, across northern england and southern scotland, more sheltered, so fewer showers. in north—east scotland, a fear a few showers and not feeling very warm. this evening and overnight, england showers will become confined to the coast. showers around, but it will bea coast. showers around, but it will be a chilly night. temperatures falling to a minimum of 9 degrees in the towns and cities, but in the

countryside, it will be a few degrees cooler. on saturday morning, if you showers in the north—east of scotland, into northern ireland. as we go through the day, the showers are starting to get going, but high pressure starts to pollution, so more dry weather pushing northern scotland. a chilly night and saturday night, in the countryside, we could see temperatures getting close to freezing, so we touch of grass frost not out of the question. as we start sunday, a fresh start to the day, and a few patches of mist and fog. just the risk of seeing a shout into the afternoon, particularly across southern and eastern parts of england. moeen in the way of sunshine, temperatures feeling warmer. an explosion on a packed tube train

at parsons green in london — 22 people are injured. the device had a timer — police are treating it as a terrorist attack. there are many urgent enquiries ongoing with hundreds of detectives involved looking at cctv and speaking to witnesses. this is being supported by m15 and bringing their intelligence expertise to bear on the case. eyewitnesses say the blast set off a fireball in the train — there was a stampede as passengers fled in panic. i was sitting in the back carriage,

and suddenly i heard a big bang. i turned left, and i saw the fireball to the side. i'm here at