London death toll rises to at least 37

LONDON - Four blasts tore through packed underground trains and a bus during London's rush hour, killing at least 37 people and disrupting a summit of world leaders in the capital's deadliest-ever peacetime attack.

Police put the death toll at 37 by mid-afternoon Thursday local time (early morning Friday NZT), and French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy later quoted Britain's government as saying 50 people had been killed.

Around 700 people were wounded, markets plummeted before partially recovering and Prime Minister Tony Blair rushed to London from the Group of Eight summit in Scotland after branding the attacks "barbaric". He was due to return later.

Three explosions caused carnage on underground trains as Londoners made their way to work. The top was also ripped off a double-decker bus near Russell Square in the heart of the city.

"The scene afterwards was horrible: pieces of body on the ground," said Ayobami Bello, a 42-year-old security guard who was near the bus.

"I saw three bodies on the ground and three just hanging out of the bus. I just missed it myself. If there are any survivors they will have very serious injuries."

Police said seven people were killed on an underground train near Liverpool Street, 21 were confirmed dead in another near King's Cross, seven died at Edgware Road and two more were killed in the bus.

Security experts said the blasts had all the hallmarks of the al Qaeda network responsible for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and the Madrid train bombings in 2004.

A previously unknown group, "Secret Group of al Qaeda's Jihad in Europe," claimed responsibility, but police said it was too early to say whether suicide bombers were involved.

"We are clearly shocked but we are not surprised by what has happened," assistant deputy commissioner of London police Brian Paddick told reporters, adding no warning had been received.

US President George W Bush, speaking at the G8 summit, told reporters: "The war on terror goes on".

"We will not yield to these terrorists, we will find them, we will bring them to justice," he said.

Britain is a key ally of the United States in Iraq, where the Islamic militant al Qaeda is waging a bloody insurgency.

The blasts left Londoners angry and shocked. The Islamic Human Rights Commission warned London Muslims to stay at home to avoid any violence aimed at them.

The bombings came just a day after a jubilant London was awarded the 2012 Olympic Games.

"I'm deeply saddened that this should happen at the heart of an Olympic city. Unfortunately there is no safe haven. No one can say their city is safe," International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said in Singapore.

Italy's interior minister said all Europe was on alert.

The carnage began shortly before 9am (8pm NZtime) with the first blast and ended an hour and three more explosions later.

People were seen streaming out of underground stations covered in blood and soot. Hundreds of passengers were evacuated from stations across the capital, many in shock and with their clothes ripped to shreds, witnesses said.

London mayor Ken Livingstone, speaking in Singapore, suggested suicide bombers may have been involved.

"I wish to speak to you directly -- to those who came to London today to take lives," he said.

"I know that you personally do not fear to give your own life in exchange for taking others, which is why you are so dangerous."

Emergency services were pushed to the limit, with medics treating the wounded on train platforms and in a makeshift field hospital set up in a retail store. People with non-urgent complaints were urged to stay away from hospitals.

Oil prices fell over five per cent before recovering and London stocks closed around two per cent lower. Sterling sank to a 19-month low against the dollar and stayed there.

The city's streets rapidly emptied and financial markets initially fell sharply as it became apparent that the blasts were an attack rather than a power surge on the underground train system as had first been reported.

As darkness fell, hundreds of thousands of Londoners began a long walk home in the rain, with the underground network that carries 3 million passengers a day closed at least until Friday local time.

Thomas Carr, a 63-year-old electrician who faced a two-hour walk home, said he would keep using the underground.

"It won't put me off using the tube," he said. "You can't let them beat you."

Hotline

MFAT's number for those worried about friends and relatives in London is 0800 432 111.

- REUTERS