London Officials Review Bombing Response

SURVIVORS of the July 7 London bombings yesterday told of woeful failings in the emergency services' response to the disaster.

Paramedics at the scene of the Edgware Road blast had to raid a nearby Marks & Spencer store for bandages after their first aid supplies ran out, said Paul Dadge, a former fireman.

A victim of the Aldgate station explosion claimed a group of firemen ignored him as he told them 'there's people dying down there' and asked them why they weren't helping.

And it took two hours for ambulances to arrive at Russell Square Tube station, said Rachel North, who was in the King's Cross explosion.

'I tried to prevent commuters getting into the station,' she said. 'People were swearing at me asking what the bloody hell I was playing at. There were no ambulances. There were no doctors.'

She suffered minor injuries and was treated for cuts and shock. The 34-year- old was one of 12 survivors who gave evidence yesterday at a review committee set up by the London Assembly to learn lessons from the disaster.

They were addressed by their first names during the hearing.

Miss North, an account director from Highbury, North London, criticised the lack of support and advice for survivors in the aftermath of the atrocities.

She said: 'The moment the bomb went off, I and other people on my train looked after each other in the dark and have pretty much been in the dark ever since.'

Yesterday's hearing was the last of five meetings held at London's City Hall to hear from a range of people involved in the disaster which killed 52 people.

Mr Dadge, who became an iconic image of the attack as he helped masked Davinia Turrell to safety, portrayed a scene of chaos outside Edgware Road.

The 29-year-old told the hearing: 'What struck me was the complete inadequacy of medical supplies and ambulances. We were using first aid kits from Marks & Spencer because we'd run out of bandages.

'That just shouldn't be allowed to happen. There were nine ambulances for about a thousand casualties and at one point there were two paramedics for 150 patients.'

Many survivors applauded the bravery of emergency services.

Ben, who came out of Edgware Road 40 minutes after the blast to see a group of paramedics waiting, said: 'Individually, the emergency services showed extreme courage as they were let down by bureaucracy.'

Michael, who survived Aldgate, said: 'I walked up on to the platform and asked the first group of

firemen why they weren't down there - there's people dying down there - and they wouldn't look at me. They looked at each other.'

He said he had the feeling they had been ordered to wait above ground for fear of another blast.

Tim, a passenger on the Edgware Road train, said of the aftermath: 'When the explosion occurred the noise was both vast and quiet. Darkness came immediately as did fear for my life.'

John, who was also on the Edgware Road train, described how he crawled through the carriage to find survivors while bleeding and covered in glass. 'I walked into an unknown hell,' he added. Some witnesses called for immediate funding for better radio communications on the Tube and for aircraft-style emergency lighting on trains.

Mr Dadge recommended a ' tagging' system to identify victims and called for established rendezvous points so people knew where to go in an emergency.

There were also requests for first aid supplies at stations.

The 7 July Review Committee will issue its findings in May.

c.gill@dailymail.co.uk

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