Boston bombings: Londoners tell of horror and chaos as blasts ripped through marathon

 
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British runners at the Boston Marathon today described the scenes of horror and confusion as two blasts ripped through the spectator area near the finish line.

Video footage shows spectators and runners knocked off their feet by the terrifying blasts which killed three people, one of them an eight-year-old boy, and left 140 injured.

The race, which is the world's oldest and most prestigious marathon and has a total of 27,000 runners, lists 374 from the UK and 59 from the capital.

Jeremy Hughes, 47, from Leeds, finished the 26.2 mile race just over half an hour before the explosions.

Speaking to the Standard last night he said: "The mood during the race was jubilant, everyone was having a great time. There was a sense of euphoria on finishing. It went from that to shock, outrage, and confusion."

Mr Hughes, a firefighter from Leeds, was supported by his wife Deborah, 45 and son Harry.

He added: "I had finished and met my wife when we heard the blasts. It was the sound of an explosion without a doubt. We kept moving on to the hotel as we were two blocks away. But once we got back we saw what happened and it is a tragedy. Our thoughts are with the injured."

His wife added: "We were texting after the race about where we were going to meet. Jez asked us to come over to the finish line, but I told him to come out to the meeting point, even though he was tired. It's those little things that just seem like fate."

Christopher Tuke, 36, who lives in Notting Hill and works in finance, was in Boston with his wife, parents and baby daughter to run in the marathon.

He said: "When it happened we were in a burger bar around the corner, but I suppose you always think what if we had decided to go and watch the finish, which we could have done. I think most of the people who were injured were spectators, so I guess you always think what would have happened if I had made a different decision."

He said he had received "hundreds" of calls from friends and relatives in the UK asking if he was alright immediately after the blast.

Speaking from his hotel room in the centre of Boston last night, he said: "I'm fine. I finished it sooner than the bomb went off, about an hour or so before it happened. I'm staying quite nearby the marathon route, and surreal is probably the right word to describe the scene. A marathon has a sense of calm and euphoria. You feel everyone's your friend, and everyone volunteers to get you a drink at the end of it. In America especially they're very good at being bubbly people. You come out on a high, and obviously that high was cruelly dashed."

He said he was having a meal with his family when he noticed that "the mood in the streets had changed", adding: "Everyone was on their phones and looking at the news. No one was smiling anymore."

He is due to arrive back in London tonight on a British Airways flight.

Television pictures showed bloodied spectators and runners lying on the ground, emergency workers ripping away fencing and others carrying injured men and women from the scene.

Pictures also emerged on Twitter showing casualties lying on the pavement on Boylston Street - the main road through the east coast city - and debris blowing around them.

Another photograph appeared to show participants running down the street at the moment an explosion created a fireball, sending smoke into the air.

A list of competitors on the Boston Marathon website showed hundreds of British runners were expected to line up for the race.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of the incident and we are trying to gather information."

Foreign Secretary William Hague tweeted: "Appalled by news of explosion at Boston marathon. My thoughts are with everyone affected by it and all those waiting for news."

Rodney Mushanganyisi, 37, a staff nurse from east London, said: "I finished the race before the bombs went off and was back at my hotel, where I heard what had happened.

"I was just devastated. And then I was just thanking God that I am alive and well but my heart just went out to the people who have lost their lives or got injured. For something like that to happen when you are running a marathon – doing something you love – is unimaginable.

"I am doing the London marathon on Sunday so now I am worried about the security but I will try not to think about it and just enjoy the race.

"I was really happy because I set my personal best in Boston – 2hr 49mins."

His wife, Joyce Matsi, 30, said: "He sent me an email after he finished the race so I knew he was okay. But when I saw what had happened on the news, I felt scared. He could have died."

Helen Fickling, wife of runner Andrew Fickling, 57, from Putney, said she had been in touch with her husband who "was safe and well".

She said: "He is out there with his brother and some friends. I have heard that they are all OK, but that they were very close to the blast. They were lucky."

London Mayor Boris Johnson wrote on Twitter: "Shocked by events at the Boston Marathon - my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families tonight."

The Labour leader Ed Miliband wrote on Twitter: "Appalling news from Boston. All of my thoughts are with the casualties and their families."

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