Post by Salem6 on Jul 22, 2005 12:03:20 GMT
A man has been shot dead by armed officers at Stockwell Tube station, as police hunt four would-be bombers.
Police have cordoned off a 200-metre area around the station
Passenger Mark Whitby told BBC News he had seen a man of Asian appearance shot five times by "plain-clothes police officers" with a handgun.
"I saw the gun being fired five times into the guy - he is dead," he said.
Passengers were evacuated from the Northern Line station in south London. The incident followed four minor explosions in the capital on Thursday.
Police have cordoned off a 200-metre area around Stockwell station.
Services on the Victoria and Northern lines have been suspended following a request by the police, London Underground said.
Ambulances including an air ambulance have been sent to the scene at Stockwell.
Mr Whitby, told BBC News: "I was sitting on the train reading my paper.
"I heard a load of noise, people saying, 'Get out, get down!'
"I saw an Asian guy run onto the train hotly pursued by three plain-clothes police officers.
'Bomb belt'
"One of them was carrying a black handgun - it looked like an automatic - they pushed him to the floor, bundled on top of him and unloaded five shots into him."
Another passenger on the train, Anthony Larkin, told BBC News the man had been wearing a "bomb belt with wires coming out".
"I've seen these police officers shouting, 'Get down, get down!', and I've seen this guy who appears to have a bomb belt and wires coming out.
"People were panicking and I heard shots being fired."
Londoner Dan Copeland was in the carriage in which the man was shot.
He told BBC News: "We were sitting for a few minutes on the platform, then we heard shouting from the concourse between the two platforms.
"Then the man burst in through the door to my right and grabbed hold of the pole and a person by the glass partition near the door, diagonally opposite me.
"An officer jumped on the door to my left and screamed, 'Everybody out!'
"People just froze in their seats cowering for a few seconds and then leapt up.
"As I turned out the door onto the platform, I heard four dull bangs.
"I ran past an armed officer who was standing on the platform and ran up the stairs."
Jason Dines, of Brixton, south London, was on a train that pulled in to Stockwell station at about 1000 BST.
He told BBC News: "I suddenly became aware there was a real sense of panic.
"I could see people running down the platform to the exit.
"People on my train started banging on the doors, saying, 'Let us off, let us off!'
"They were making so much noise, it was impossible to hear the driver's announcements.
"The fear was contagious - I felt my heart racing."
Evidence gathered
After Thursday's London blasts, the bombers fled when detonators went off, causing small blasts, but failed to detonate the bombs themselves.
A massive hunt is underway for the men. Analysts believe evidence from the four scenes - at Oval, Shepherd's Bush, Warren Street and on a bus in Shoreditch in east London - could throw light onto the bomb attacks carried out on 7 July.
On Thursday, it is thought detonators went off, causing small blasts, but failed to detonate the bombs themselves.
The attempted attacks caused travel chaos across the capital, with several lines closed and Tube stations evacuated.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4706787.stm