July 7 rescuers delayed by 'sea of blast victims'

12 April 2012

Rescuers at the July 7 bombings were delayed in reaching the scene of the Aldgate blast by hundreds of victims emerging from the station, the inquest heard today.

Paul Rigby, a fire brigade divisional officer, described a "sea of people", bloodied, soot-covered and needing attention.

He said: "(There were) hundreds exiting the station, passengers, lots of smartly-dressed people with sooted faces, some with bleeding noses, some with bleeding ears."

Some rescuers were being drawn away to deal with those people before they could reach the Underground tunnel, he said.

Mr Rigby added: "One of the problems was getting through the people coming out ... It's very difficult to pass someone who's injured to go to someone else."

Rescuers were also forced to wait to learn whether the power to the track was turned off, the central London inquest for the 52 victims of the 2005 attacks heard. Mr Rigby said victims would not want to see their rescuers electrocuted.

The hearing continues.

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