Kiwis give glimpse of the horror

New Zealanders caught up in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in London were last night describing the chaos across the city and their own close calls.

Hamish Pearson, from North Shore's Rothesay Bay, was outside Liverpool St Station when he heard a loud bang and his train ground to a halt.

"People started panicking, screaming and crying as smoke came into the carriage. A man told everyone to be calm and we were led to safety along the track," he said.

"I went past the carriage where I think the explosion was ... The metal was all blown outwards."

Mark Ward was sitting in his courier van when he heard an almighty crack followed by a loud thump - the sound of London Bus number 30 being blown apart at Tavistock Square.

"The bus just ripped apart, the top came off. It was like a can of baked beans," said Mr Ward, 46. "There were bodies and everything everywhere." 

Rebecca Ryan, formerly of Thames, lives close to Aldgate Station where two people were reportedly killed.

She spoke to the Herald last night from outside Kings Cross Station where she said the roads were closed off and "people are looking pretty freaked out. We can't see anything but it's real chaos and that's on top of the road - God knows how chaotic it is underground."

Last night Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade staff faced a huge mammoth task as worried relatives and friends began calling hoping for word that their loved ones - amounting to thousands of New Zealanders - in London were safe.

Spokesman James Kember said the ministry and the High Commission in London had set up an information number, 0800 432 111.

"This is a different situation from the tsunami," he said.

"There are hundreds and thousands of New Zealand passport holders in the UK, but fewer than 1000 have registered with the High Commission, so we don't have a list of all tourists as in Phuket."

Telecom last night said international circuits into Britain were severely congested, as were internal fixed and mobile networks.

In Wellington the consular team was working through the night to help people contact family and friends.

Thousands of rugby supporters in New Zealand for the Lions tour were frantically trying to call home, hampered by jammed phone lines into London.

Prince William, in New Zealand for the tour, has cancelled his scheduled whale-watching in Kaikoura planned for today and was last night "following events closely", said a spokesman.

Lions media manager Louisa Cheetham said what happened needed to be clearer before the team knew their next move.

Hundreds of messages began streaming into the nzherald.co.nz website from people in London reporting they were safe.

David Jamieson, communications manager at Air New Zealand, said there were "issues" with flights leaving Heathrow Airport. Flight NZ1 was due to leave London at 4.15pm (NZT 3.15am), but air crews were unable to get to the airport.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said last night there were no reports of New Zealand casualties. She had been in direct contact with the High Commission in London after the blasts and had conveyed the sympathy and deep concern of the Government and people of New Zealand to the office of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"All staff at the commission have been accounted for and the commission has activated an incident room so it can deal with calls from within the UK."

- STAFF REPORTERS