LONDON (AP) -- A subway train derailed in east London during rush hour
Thursday. Thirty-seven people suffered minor injuries in the accident, which
police said was not terror-related.
About 700 passengers -- many of them covered in dust -- were evacuated after the
Central Line train derailed at 9:04 a.m. between the Bethnal Green and Mile End
stations, British Transport Police said.
Paramedics treated 37 patients for minor injuries and 11 were taken to the
hospital, the London Ambulance Service said in a statement.
Passenger Jacqui McElroy, 34, said the train seemed to lift up as it rounded a
corner at Bethnal Green.
''Obviously the first thing that goes through your mind is ''Is it
terrorists?''' she said.
The accident may have been caused by an obstruction on the tracks, according to
Transport for London, which operates the system.
Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union,
said in a statement that subway workers had repeatedly raised concerns with
transport authorities that contractors working in the area where the derailment
occurred were not properly storing equipment.
The train remained upright throughout the incident, police said. Britain's Press
Association reported that six cars may have gone off the track.
Emergency workers finished evacuating passengers from the derailed train and the
one stuck behind it by 11 a.m., Transport for London said, adding that neither
train was full.
Passengers walked out of the tunnel to the closest station, police said.
Service on a large section of the Central Line was suspended.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch was investigating the derailment.
There were 21 derailments on the system in the year ending March 31, but none of
those trains was carrying passengers, according to Transport for London.
British authorities are on high alert following three attempted terror attacks
in London and Glasgow, Scotland, and ahead of the anniversary of the suicide
bombings in London that killed 52 people on London's subway and bus system on
July 7, 2005.