London Bombings Survivor's Blog

How Rachel's ordinary journey became extraordinary

Rachel has been reading my blog for sometime but only a few days ago chose to make a very simple comment on my blog:

"I've been reading this for a while and wanted to drop in and post a comment.

Even though I am now scared on the tube, I can come and look at this site and be reminded of what a massive and interesting and frenetic part of London life it all is and where would we be without it.

Thanks for writng a great blog. I'm going to blog you if that is ok."

Hmm, why is she scared on the tube I thought and clicked on the link she had left. She had every good reason to be scared, being in the same carriage of the Piccadilly Line that was blown up by terrorists on 7th July killing 26 people in that carriage:

"The bomb carried by a young man in his rucksack exploded 7-10ft behind me on my Tube carriage while I was reading the news about the successful Olympic bid.

Because the train was so crowded I didn't die. I fell sideways as commuters near me took the full force of the explosion in one of the deepest, narrowest parts of the Underground network."

I won't say too much about her survivor's blog apart from please go and read it. Funnily enough, only yesterday I was saying that some of the victims may still feel too shocked or traumatised to talk to the press. Rachel however is extraordinarily brave and a fantastic writer and very recently wrote a piece for The Sunday Times which was published on October 2nd. The passenger behaviour is a tribute to London's commuters:

"Nobody panicked, nobody pushed, though the urge to escape was overwhelming. We walked in single file for fear of electrocution. Behind me a man half dragged, half carried another badly injured man across his shoulders. We talked to each other, we encouraged each other, we even tried to make jokes......"

"He meant to cause terror, that man who pushed onto my carriage and blew himself up. And you would think, wouldn't you, that a hundred feet down in the darkness I would have felt utterly alone. But no. The worst of all things happened, and we became Kings Cross United. I salute you, my fellow passengers. You have made me forever proud."

I only wish I had discovered Rachel's blog sooner and hope this post rectifies that. Thank you Rachel for sharing your lifechanging and moving experience with us.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Tuesday, October 11, 2005 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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