Suviving a terrorist attack

July 8, 2005 7:24 PM

First person account of London Tube Bombing: "Fate is a strange thing. On this particular day a series of events transpired such that I ended up on a Tube train that was destroyed by terrorists. Fortunately it was only the carriage in front of me, but tragically it resulted in a serious amount of injuries. This is my story." (via Waxy)
posted by Heminator (17 comments total)

"A funny thing happened to me on the way to work this morning. My tube blew up."
(Via BB)
posted by Pseudonumb at 8:00 PM on July 8, 2005

thanks for these. I keep thinking how tiny those subway cars are, and how low the ceilings, and that it was good they only hold not that many people in each one.
posted by amberglow at 8:06 PM on July 8, 2005

Just in case people don't see it, he does have a followup also.

(and personally, I feel that this is the kind of thing we should have had in the original thread instead of all the political baiting)
posted by cyphill at 8:11 PM on July 8, 2005

London Tube logo reworked as protest image (as per the Waxy link above).
posted by ericb at 8:50 PM on July 8, 2005

"Mind the Bombs" ?
posted by amberglow at 8:58 PM on July 8, 2005

The followup linked by cyphill is very poignant, in a mildly post-traumatic shock sort of way. And quite English. And, incidentally, it also gives a tiny glimpse of vulture journalism in action - looks quite like our own trolls, but while ours are competent amateurs at best, those are the true professionals.
posted by nkyad at 9:08 PM on July 8, 2005

The follow-up comment is poignant indeed. His conclusion is interesting:

So I move on; seeing terrorism counts for nothing, it doesn’t affect us, and we carry on regardless and resolute. To all terrorists: I hope you feel frustrated and stupid because I’m sure as hell not going to let you win regardless of how barbaric and callous you choose to be. You waste life and don’t deserve acknowledgement for your acts and despite being in the thick of it yesterday you only deserve contempt.

posted by saketini99 at 9:22 PM on July 8, 2005

Isn't posting a waxy link almost like posting a kottke link these days?
posted by jedro at 12:18 AM on July 9, 2005

I personally like what one writer in yesterday's Times of London expressed: "Is that the best you can do?"
posted by LondonYank at 2:38 AM on July 9, 2005

"Is that the best you can do?"

That must be very consoling to the families of the bereaved or badly injured.

Is inciting terrorists to terrorise again responsible journalism?
posted by bobbyelliott at 2:42 AM on July 9, 2005

This timeline of the attacks puts the third bombing at Edgware Road at 9.17am. It reflects what was, until now, the best understanding of the timings. An announcement from the police at a press conference occurring at this moment puts the Edgware Road blast at just before 9 o'clock, at the same time as the other two tube blasts near Aldgate and Russell Square.

The cause for confusion over the time, almost unbelievably, is that the police simply didn't receive any calls about the third blast until the later time.

The police do not know how many bodies remain on the carriages.
posted by nthdegx at 4:42 AM on July 9, 2005

First-person account by the driver of the double-decker bus that was bombed.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:03 AM on July 9, 2005

They're now reporting that the Tube blasts were seconds apart (and the CNN timeline that nthdegx linked to has been updated).
posted by kirkaracha at 11:19 AM on July 9, 2005

Is that the best you can do?

Well, it's the worst attack on London since WW2, if that counts for anything.

Then again, as Harry Hutton already put it: "Britain could have 500 such attacks a year and it would still be less violent than Colombia."
posted by Ljubljana at 2:30 PM on July 9, 2005

Is that true, Ljubljana? I thought there was an IRA bombing of Harrod's in the 70s or 80s that was worse, but it could just be my memory failing.
posted by psmealey at 3:43 PM on July 9, 2005

Is it true that BBC Radio said they were conducting terror drills in the Underground on the 7th?
posted by amberglow at 4:42 PM on July 9, 2005

psmealy, sorry I originally meant to include this link, which has a timeline of attacks on London. According to it, the Harrods bombing killed 6 and wounded about 90. Surprisingly, the IRA rarely managed to kill more than ten in a single attack.
posted by Ljubljana at 10:26 AM on July 10, 2005