The psychological consequences of the London bombings

INTRODUCTION The terrorist attacks on the Central London transport network on July 7, 2005, killed 52 commuters and caused approximately 700 injuries. The attacks marked the first major attack on the U.K. mainland since the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) had ceased its bombing campaign nearly 10 years previously. The initial attacks happened at 8:50 a.m. on a busy Thursday morning as commuters were rushing about their daily business or finishing their journey to work. At first it was unclear what had happened; initial reports suggested there might have been a power surge before the explosions on London's underground railway system, which is known as the Tube. However, when a London commuter bus exploded in Tavistock Square, just north of the center of the city, at 9:47 a.m., it became clear it was the work of terrorists. Emergency services responded rapidly across all five incident sites; in most cases resources arrived on scene within minutes of the first calls being received. The London Ambulance Service (LAS) deployed almost 200 vehicles and 400 staff simultaneously across the five sites, completing the handling of casualties within approximately 3 hours, by which time 404 patients had been moved to seven hospitals. The response by the police and fire services was equally effective. Almost immediately after the attacks, there was considerable interest in how ordinary Londoners, not directly involved in the attacks themselves, had responded to the crisis.