London blast: 22 injured in explosion; hunt on for suspect

A Transport for London spokeswoman said the District line had been suspended between Earls Court and Wimbledon due to a security alert.

The Metropolitan Police declared the ‏ explosion on a London underground train as a 'terror incident' in which 22 people suffered injuries. The blast at tube station was a detonation of an improvised explosive device, reports Reuters quoting Scotland Yard. Metropolitan Police‏ has asked Londoners to avoid the area.

Meanwhile, a hunt was on for a suspect the British media labelled as the "bucket bomber". Some reports indicated that the suspect was identified after investigators reviewed the CCTV footage at the station. This is the fifth terrorism incident in the UK this year. But it's the only one in 2017 in which nobody has died.

The Metropolitan Police Chief, AC Rowley, said: "Today & over the weekend you can expect to see a heightened police presence, particularly in crowded places".

The British Transport police asked everyone to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious behaviour to them by texting 61016 or calling 0800 405040.

One witness told Guardian that there were injuries at the station after a "stampede" of passengers.

.@metpoliceuk have now declared this a terror incident. Officers remain at the scene and continue to work with emergency service colleagues pic.twitter.com/RUQ4RJQfYs

— BTP (@BTP) September 15, 2017

Officers and ambulance staff are on the scene following reports on social media of an "explosion", according to UK media.

We have taken 18 patients to a number of London hospitals. None are thought to be in a serious or life-threatening condition #ParsonsGreen pic.twitter.com/3B13JznAqZ

— London Ambulance (@Ldn_Ambulance) September 15, 2017

A Transport for London spokeswoman said the District line had been suspended between Earls Court and Wimbledon due to a security alert.

Images posted on Twitter showed a women being attended to by emergency services sitting on a pavement.

Still unclear but very scary - extremely heavy armed police presence now #ParsonsGreen pic.twitter.com/WkodyNsfk0

— Alex Littlefield (@A_Littlefield) September 15, 2017

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson appealed for calm. "I'm afraid my information is limited and it really is important not to speculate at the moment.

Obviously, everybody should keep calm and go about their lives in a normal way, as normal as they possibly can," Johnson was quoted as saying by The Telegraph. Eyewitnesses from shops outside the station have reported seeing people with facial injuries.

An eyewitness told BBC Radio 5 Live there appeared to be "a sort of loud explosion".

"It happened just as we were pulling up to the Tube station so everyone just sort of piled out of the Tube and there was a distinct smell of burning."

"I certainly saw some burning injuries," he said, but added that "everyone behaved in the right manner as such, everyone got off as quickly as they can and you know supported everyone".

Meanwhile, the UK Home Department announced support available for people affected by the attack in Parsons Green on 15 September 2017. Click here

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