by Kevin Tan
Aliran Monthly Vol 25 (2005): Issue 6

	The bomb attacks seemed so far yet so near. Kevin Tan

It�s hard to imagine bomb explosions, believed to be terrorists� attacks, took place just a stone�s throw away from where I stay. My hostel is located in Penton Rise, which is less than a kilometre away from King�s Cross Station.

I came to know about the bombing incident rather late. I was still in bed when I was awakened by a phone call from my friend, Suen, at about 10.15 am (6.15 pm Malaysian time). She told me that there were some explosions in London and advised me not to take the tube (the nickname for London�s subway system).

At first, I did not take it seriously. I told her I would still go to school, which is located near Russell Square. That way, I could also see for myself what really transpired.

Still in a daze, I tried going online to check the news, but my Internet connection was down. So I went to the kitchen in my flat and switched on the radio. The host was already discussing the explosions in London.

At that time, there was still no confirmation whether the explosions were due to terrorist attacks. Although my flat was located on the highest floor (7th floor) and my kitchen overlooks a part of London, I did not notice anything unusual that morning.

After changing my clothes, I went downstairs to the common room and found a small crowd gathered in front of the television. The television, however, was not functioning properly that morning. Although it had no sound, we could sense how serious the explosions were from what we saw on screen.

Shortly, I left the common room and walked from my hostel to nearby Pentonville Road, heading towards King�s Cross station. It was about 11 am. There were a lot more pedestrians walking up Pentonville Road than usual. A row of empty buses was already lined up by the side of the road.

Remembering that Suen told me a bus had just blown up near Russell Square, I avoided walking near those buses as I strolled down Pentonville Road.

Sealed off

At the junction of Pentonville and King�s Cross Road was a small crowd of people. Some were walking up Pentonville Road, perhaps to search for an alternative route, while others were just idling along the road. A television station crew was also there.

I could not proceed further beyond that as the police had already sealed off the area.

After taking some photographs there, I decided to walk to my university campus near Russell Square following my usual route. On the way there, I met a schoolmate. He said I would not be able to enter campus as the police had already sealed off its surrounding areas.

Yet, I was interested to see the situation there for myself. Russell Square is just 20 minutes away.

However, I could not even go near my school; a police line was established in the middle of Tavistock Road. A bus had earlier exploded near Tavistock Square, which is just several hundred metres away from Russell Square.

Waiting near the police line were several television crews and reporters. Some of them were exchanging notes. I also saw ambulances moving in and out of the area. I could only hope most of them were there on standby.

Caring Londoners

Although I could not see the wreckage from the explosion from where I was standing, I realised that it must have been horrendous based on what I had heard over the radio and from pictures that I saw on television earlier.

Despite the terrible explosions, the police were very much in control of the situation in King�s Cross and Russell Square. Londoners were also very calm. I did not see anyone panicking or crying by the roadside or any chaos.

On the other hand, I got to see the rare sight of caring Londoners. While policemen and emergency workers carried out their duties, kind residents in Tavistock Road offered free drinks for everyone.

It was raining as I walked back to my hostel. I also called my family and friends back in Malaysia to tell them that I was fine. I was amazed at how fast news travels from one part of the world to another. Most of them already knew about the bomb attacks in London from satellite television, the Internet and via SMS.

It was harder to get through to my friends in London as some mobile networks in the UK were congested that day.

My flatmate, Joe, told me later that day that he had actually walked past one of the explosion sites in the morning as he was returning home from his night shift, about 45 minutes before the bomb attacks took place.

Joe learnt that the bus blew up in front of the British Medical Association building, where many doctors were having a conference there. The presence of these doctors probably saved many lives, he said.

Meanwhile, another friend, Mei, told me she was in the tube when the explosions took place. Luckily she boarded an unaffected train and only realised how serious the explosions were after reaching her workplace in Barbican.

For me, I was relieved just to know that all my friends in London were safe. The bomb attacks seemed so far yet so near.

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Kevin Tan is a postgraduate student in the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

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