Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage shows a burning bag on board the Tube carriage at Parsons Green station

An "improvised explosive device" was detonated on a Tube train in south-west London during Friday's morning rush hour, injuring 29 people.

The blast, at Parsons Green station on a District Line train from Wimbledon, is being treated as terrorism.

So-called Islamic State says it carried out the attack, which Prime Minister Theresa May condemned as "cowardly".

A hunt is under way for the person who placed the device and the area around the station has been evacuated.

Specialist officers there securing the remains of the improvised device and ensuring it is stable.

'Cowardly attack'

Mrs May said the attack had been "intended to cause significant harm".

She said the UK's terror threat level would remain at severe - the second highest - but would be under review.

Speaking in Downing Street after chairing a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee, she said there would be an increased armed police presence on the transport network in London.

Hundreds of detectives and MI5 are investigating the attack, which took place at 08:20 BST on an eastbound train.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley earlier refused to say whether anyone had been arrested.

Image copyright PA Image caption One commuter took a picture of the device, which appeared to have wires protruding from a white canister

Pictures taken of the train show a white bucket on fire inside a supermarket bag, with wires trailing on to the carriage floor. The BBC understands the device had a timer.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the bomb appeared not to have gone off.

Had it worked as intended, it would have killed everyone around it and maimed everyone in the train carriage for life, he said.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption PM: Trump speculation "not helpful"

US President Donald Trump has spoken to Prime Minister Theresa May to convey his sympathies for those injured in the terrorist attack, the White House has said.

President Trump pledged to continue close collaboration with the UK to stop attacks and combat extremism, the statement added.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "President Trump called the prime minister earlier today to offer his condolences over this morning's cowardly attack in London."

US President Donald Trump had earlier tweeted that the "sick and demented" people behind the attack had been in the sights of the Metropolitan Police, prompting Mrs May to say it was not helpful to "speculate" on an ongoing investigation.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital has been treating 14 people, with a "small number" of them being taken to its specialist burns unit.

Four people are being treated by Imperial College Healthcare and three at St George's Hospital.

St Thomas' Hospital in London said it had treated eight patients but they had now been discharged.

Mr Rowley asked the public to remain "vigilant", but said they should "not be alarmed".

He said anyone who took pictures or videos at the scene could upload them to ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan appealed for calm, saying the city would "never be intimidated or defeated by terrorism".

Witnesses speak of 'panic'

Witnesses to the incident have described seeing at least one passenger with facial injuries, while others spoke of "panic" as alarmed passengers left the train at the station, which is above ground.

Anna Gorniak, who was in the same Tube carriage as the explosion, said: "I could see a fireball filling the carriage and coming our way. At that moment, I started to run.

"In my mind I was praying, I probably thought for a second, 'That's it, my life is over.'"

Image caption Anna Gorniak said she could see a fireball "filling the carriage"

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Peter Crowley: "There was a fireball above my head"

Passenger Peter Crowley was sitting in the carriage, travelling from Wimbledon, when the explosion happened.

He said his head was burned by a "really hot intense fireball above my head" and added: "There were people a lot worse than me."

Chris Wildish told BBC Radio 5 live he saw a bucket in a supermarket bag with "low-level flames coming out of it" by the door of the rear carriage.

Analysis

Image copyright AFP Image caption The blast happened at 08:20 BST at Parsons Green District Line station

By Dominic Casciani, BBC home affairs correspondent

The bomb at Parsons Green was an improvised explosive device (IED) and, like those on 21/7, it didn't work as planned.

The device's initiator appears to have worked - but the main charge did not detonate. This could be because the bomb-maker had got the recipe wrong.

In the case of the 21/7 attacks, the attackers tried to create TATP, an explosive compound made from hydrogen peroxide, commonly sold as hair bleach, and other chemicals.

They added chapatti flour to make the explosion more powerful still. But their chemistry was incompetent - in fact so incompetent that the ringleader had no idea, when he strapped on his rucksack, whether his device was capable of detonating or not.

TATP was used in the Manchester Arena attack earlier this year - and it was also the chemical of choice for some of the Paris 2015 attackers and the men behind the Brussels Airport bombing the following year.

Read more

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption There have been a "number of people" injured, police said

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Witnesses describe the explosion at Parsons Green

Emma Stevie, 27, who was on the train when the explosion happened, said she was caught in a "human stampede" and crush on the station steps as people rushed away from the train.

"I wedged myself in next to a railing, I put myself in the foetal position," she said.

"There was a pregnant woman underneath me, and I was trying really hard not to crush her.

"I saw a poor little boy with a smashed-in head and other injuries. It was horrible."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC presenter Sophie Raworth was near Parsons Green station minutes after the incident happened

At Parsons Green

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Witnesses have described seeing at least one passenger with facial injuries

By Jennifer Scott, BBC News

London has again fallen victim to a terror attack, targeting commuters on their way to work and visitors venturing out into the city.

With 22 people treated in hospital, this bustling part of zone two was left confused and shocked, waiting anxiously for an explanation.

Olaniyi Shokumai was riding the Tube on the way to a training course, with his headphones plugged in and listening to music - just as he would on any other journey.

After the train pulled into Parsons Green station, however, things became far from ordinary.

"I looked to my left and I saw lots of people running out. There were a lot of people just stamping on each other and I saw someone jumping over [them].

"There was a woman on the floor and she couldn't breathe. I thought, 'This has got to be serious for people to do that.'"

Ladders used to evacuate train</s>Theresa May makes TV statement as police search for bomber who left dozens injured by blast at Parsons Green station

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Britain’s terror threat level has been raised from severe to critical, indicating a further attack may be imminent following the Parsons Green tube bombing, Theresa May has said.

The hunt is under way for the bomber who attempted to bring carnage to a London rush-hour tube train packed with schoolchildren and commuters.



London tube bombing: 18-year-old man arrested in Dover - live updates Read more

Twenty-nine people including a young boy were injured when the bomb partially detonated and sent a ball of fire along a carriage of a District line train at Parsons Green, west London.

Police are understood to have found CCTV images that captured the bomber as he boarded the train with the bomb packed in a white plastic bucket inside a Lidl supermarket bag. The train is believed to have had onboard CCTV, and there are a large number of cameras covering the network.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the blast, the militant group’s Amaq news agency said on Friday evening.

Nobody suffered life-threatening injuries in the incident, the fifth terrorist attack Britain has suffered in less than six months. Parsons Green station has since reopened.

In a televised statement on Friday night, the prime minister said the UK terror threat level was being raised to its highest rating and that armed police and members of the military would be seen on the streets in the coming days.



Play Video 0:55 Theresa May: terror threat level raised to critical after London tube blast – video

“For this period, military personnel will replace police officers on guard duties at certain protected sites that are not accessible to the public,” she said.



“The public will see more armed police on the transport network and on our streets, providing extra protection. This is a proportionate and sensible step which will provide extra reassurance and protection while the investigation progresses.”

The prime minister condemned Friday’s bombing as cowardly and the home secretary, Amber Rudd, denounced it as “callous and indiscriminate”. The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, described the attack as hideous and added: “We will never be defeated.”

The security minister Ben Wallace told the BBC on Saturday: “We haven’t been able at the moment to catch the bomber. The bomber is still out there – or bombers – and we have to get to the bottom of that and follow up the leads.”

The Met assistant commissioner Mark Rowley, the UK’s most senior anti-terror police officer, said police were “chasing down suspects”. He said support from the military would free up about 1,000 extra armed police officers, largely from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and Ministry of Defence police.



A former army bomb disposal officer said it appeared the initiating charge of the device had exploded but had failed to detonate the main charge.



Initially, police considered the possibility that the bomber had been among those taken to hospital, where many were treated for flash burns.

Investigators. however, believe the device was remotely detonated, which suggested it may not have been intended as a suicide attack, and that the bomber may have left the train before the explosion.

Donald Trump’s first response to the attack – a tweet in which he claimed the “loser terrorist” had been on Scotland Yard’s radar, and that more proactive policing was required – was dismissed by a police spokesman as “unhelpful”. May also criticised the US president, saying: “I never think it is helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation.”

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Another attack in London by a loser terrorist.These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive!

The explosion happened at about 8.20am on Friday while the train was stationary and the doors open.

Rory Rigney had just boarded the rear carriage of the train and was standing just feet away when the blast went off. “I thought: ‘Did someone smash something?’ It sounded like a smash, then I heard a scream and thought: ‘It’s someone having a fight.’ Then I saw the fireball coming towards me – yellow or orange. My face still feels warm.

“The doors were still open, so I jumped out and tried to get as far away as possible, got on the ground and covered myself. I wasn’t hanging around to get a better look at it.”

Chris Wildish, who was also on the train, said “a massive flash of flames” reached up to the ceiling of the train, and then the air was filled with the smell of chemicals. Many of the passengers were schoolchildren, who were knocked around by people trying to get away from the fire, he said.



Emma Stevie said people tumbled over each other as they tried to escape. “There were people on top of people. There was a pregnant lady under me shouting: ‘I’m pregnant’. There was a little boy in his red and black uniform, he must have been about eight years old, a tiny thing, with his face smashed into the steps.”

Before long, a number of people returned to the train to retrieve bags and telephones. A few took photographs of the smouldering remains of the device, which had been packed into a bucket that eyewitnesses said appeared to have held mayonnaise. A number of wires, which appeared to be attached to small lights, were also visible.

Tube staff then ordered people to leave the station. Armed police were on the scene within minutes, as were firefighters and paramedics, who began treating people with burns.

Police threw a cordon around the area and asked some residents to leave their homes. Armed police evacuated a nursery and a junior school, and a girls’ secondary school was placed in lockdown.

NHS England said 29 patients had been treated, with 21 still in hospital on Friday evening.

Responsibility for the investigation was quickly handed to Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command.

Emma (@EmmaStevie1) I'm safe - just had to run for my life at #ParsonsGreen station - huge stamped, lots injured. Not sure why - fire/explosion mentioned. pic.twitter.com/zRvRPWOuzA

Rowley said hundreds of detectives had been drafted in to the investigation, and he appealed to the public for information.

So far, 77 images and videos have been sent to investigators via the UK Police Image Appeal website.

Alex Littlefield (@A_Littlefield) Still unclear but very scary - extremely heavy armed police presence now #ParsonsGreen pic.twitter.com/WkodyNsfk0

On Friday night detectives were examining a mass of CCTV footage from the underground rail network, and from businesses around some District line stations.

The device was being examined by forensics experts, and may offer clues from its construction and from the chemicals used to make the explosive charge.

Counter-terrorism investigators will want to establish where the device was put together, and where the materials to make it were acquired. They will also be attempting to establish whether the bomb-making knowledge was acquired from the plethora of DIY guides on the internet, or from another person.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A picture posted on Twitter of a burning plastic bag holding what is believed to be an improvised explosive device on a District line train. Photograph: @RRigs

Rita Katz, the director of the private intelligence company Site, said Isis claimed the bombing was the work of a “detachment” rather than simply a “soldier”, which she said implied it was a co-ordinated attack.



The terror group has frequently declared that it was behind terrorist incidents in recent years but experts have warned that its claims should be treated with caution.

The explosion at Parsons Green is the first terrorist attack in the UK this year to not result in loss of life. Two vehicle and knife attacks in London and a bombing in Manchester were blamed on Islamist-motivated terrorism. A van attack in June was blamed on an extreme rightwing motivation.

Hans Michels, a professor of safety engineering at the chemical engineering department at Imperial College London, said there appeared to be similarities with the failed attempts on 21 July 2005 to bomb the tube network.

Play Video 0:47 'People were falling on top of each other': Parsons Green witness explains the panic

“In appearance and arrangement the remnants of the device seem highly similar to those of the hydrogen peroxide-based devices of 2005. The size of the device and its containment in a plastic bucket is also the same.”

The trial of the 21 July bombers heard that their devices had failed because they had made mistakes when mixing the chemicals.

Additional reporting: Sarah Marsh, Kevin Rawlinson and Patrick Greenfield

</s>Explosion On The Tube: Terror Incident At Parsons Green Station

There's been an explosion on a London Underground train at Parsons Green tube station.

Around 20 passengers are believed to have received facial injuries following the incident on the District Line train.

The pictures tweeted at the scene show a Lidl shopping bag containing a white plastic bucket.

The Met Police has declared it as a terrorist incident. The Met Police said: " It is too early to confirm the cause of the fire, which will be subject to the investigation that is now underway by the Met's Counter Terrorism Command."

Twitter user Rigs tweeted: "Explosion on Parsons Green district line train. Fireball flew down carriage and we just jumped out open door."

Eyewitness Richard Aylmer-Hall told the Press Association that some injuries were caused by the panic following the explosion.

He said: "I was blissfully reading my paper and listening to a podcast and suddenly the whole world charged past me down the platform, down the Tube.

"I was on the Tube, we had just stopped at Parsons Green, I was on my way up from Wimbledon towards Paddington and suddenly there was panic, lots of people shouting, screaming, lots of screaming.

"There was a woman on the platform who said she had seen a bag, a flash and a bang, so obviously something had gone off.

"It was an absolutely packed, rush-hour District Line train from Wimbledon to Edgware Road.

"I saw crying women, there was lots of shouting and screaming, there was a bit of a crush on the stairs going down to the streets.

"Some people got pushed over and trampled on, I saw two women being treated by ambulance crews.

"Since then, every emergency vehicle in London has gone past me, fire engines, ambulances, every type of police vehicle."

Peter Crowley tweeted pictures of the burns he received on his head.

One passenger expressed her thanks to the man who rescued her from the stampede.

Natasha Wills, of London Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 8.20am to reports of an incident at Parsons Green underground station.

"We have sent multiple resources to the scene including single responders in cars, ambulance crews, incident response officers and our hazardous area response team, with the first of our medics arriving in under five minutes.

"Our initial priority is to assess the level and nature of injuries. More information will follow when we have it."

The District Line was suspended during the rush hour.</s>LONDON -- A Friday morning explosion at the Parson's Green London Underground train station caused panic and left at least 22 people injured in a bombing attack, but luckily caused no fatalities.

It quickly became clear that the attack could have been much worse, as the "improvised explosive device" used appeared to have failed, at least partially.

"Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the senior national coordinator for CT (counter-terrorism) policing, has declared it a terrorist incident," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement about two hours after chaos erupted on a train at Parsons Green station, in the southwest part of the British capital.

Commuters from the train posted photos on social media showing police and firefighters on the scene and describing panic as people escaped the train car and then got out of the station, which is an above-ground stop on the London Underground network, known as the tube.

London Ambulance Service said 18 people were taken to area hospitals with injuries, but that "none are thought to be in a serious or life-threatening condition." Four other people made it to London hospitals on their own with injuries from the attack.

Many of the injuries appeared to be "flash burns," according to the London police. Others were reportedly hurt in the crush as hundreds of commuters rushed to get out of the station.

Peter Crowly, who was on the train, told BBC News shortly after the incident that he "heard a large bang from other side of the tube train" and that a "firewall" flashed above his head. He posted photos on his Twitter account showing a burn to his forehead and a patch of hair that appeared to be scorched.

Multiple photos posted online showed what appeared to be a large plastic bucket sitting inside a plastic shopping bag, with what looked like charring around the top of the bucket.

The photos showed no obvious signs of an explosion, but some images showed small flames still burning around the package.

Other witnesses from inside the train reported seeing a large flash or fireball. There was no extensive damage seen around the bag containing the charred bucket. Some images appeared to show wires protruding from the top of the bag.

Police would not immediately confirm that the package was connected to the explosion. An officer at the scene described an "item exploding to a small degree" on the train.

Several hours later, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said it was clear there had been a "detonation of an improvised explosive device" on the train.

He would only say police were chasing down "many urgent enquires," including looking at security camera video from the area.

Rowley would not confirm explicitly that police were searching for any specific suspects in the attack. He said Britain's MI5 domestic spy agency was helping with what he called, "very much a live investigation." London Mayor Sadiq Kahn did acknowledge, however, in multiple interviews, that a manhunt was underway.

A security source with knowledge of that investigation told CBS News that, according to initial assessments, the bucket likely contained a homemade explosive consistent with use in recent terrorism incidents.

The source said the homemade bomb appeared to be fitted with a timer, raising the question of whether the perpetrator was even on the train when it detonated. Loose screws were also found near the device -- thought to be intended for increased fragmentation, to cause more damage.

Richard Walton, former head of counter-terrorism at the Metropolitan Police and now a CBS News security consultant, said investigators would be trying to quickly determine if the small blast was caused by a viable explosive device. "Clearly the bomb has not done what it was intended to do, which was to kill and maim many people," Walton said.

If it was a viable bomb, a former bomb disposal officer tells CBS News it's possible that the bang and fire were caused by a detonator exploding, but failing to ignite the primary explosive charge.

London Underground suspended services on a stretch of the District Line, the one affected by the incident, but said the rest of the network would continue running. London police evacuated everyone within about 50 yards of the train, including some residences, later Friday "whilst specialist officers secure the remnants of the improvised device and ensure it is stable."

The London Fire Brigade confirmed in a tweet that firefighters had responded to a call at 8:21 a.m. (3:21 a.m. Eastern), during London's morning rush hour, at the busy station in the Fulham area.

A hazardous area response team from the London Ambulance Service responded, along with dozens of firefighters, and armed Metropolitan Police officers could also be seen around the station, which was sealed off completely.

British Prime Minister Theresa May was "receiving regular updates" on the situation at Parsons Green, according to her office.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a statement that he would join May at a meeting later Friday of the national government's "COBRA" emergency response team.

New York Police Department Commissioner James O'Neill said in a tweet -- in which he included the photos of the white bucket and bag on the London tube train -- that the NYPD was "closely monitoring" the incident in London but that there were "no direct threats to" New York as of early Friday morning.

He encouraged New Yorkers to remain "vigilant/aware of surroundings."

President Trump, meanwhile, responded to the attack by calling the still-unknown suspect a "loser terrorist" and referring to "sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard."

It was not immediately clear what the president meant by suggesting the perpetrator might have been "in the sights" of London's police department. Prime Minister May delivered what appeared to be a mild rebuke to the comments later Friday, telling the BBC when asked about Mr. Trump's tweet: "I never think it's helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation."

Britain has been on its second-highest level of terrorism alert all year, and at least four incidents have been labeled terrorist attacks in 2017; in March, a man drove a vehicle into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and then attacked police officers outside Parliament.

In May, a man claiming allegiance to ISIS blew himself up after an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, killing 22 people.

In early June, another attack began with a vehicle plowing into people in the London Bridge area, before three men got out and attacked civilians with large knives.

The most recent terror attack in London was carried out by a Welshman on June 19. Darren Osborne is accused of carrying out a premeditated vehicle attack on Muslims as they left a mosque in the Finsbury Park neighborhood of North London.</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The area surrounding the London Tube's Parsons Green station has been evacuated following a terrorist attack, the UK's Metropolitan Police said Friday.

Earlier in the day, an explosion, most likely involving an improvised explosive device, hit the tube station, causing passengers' facial burns. London's police said that they regarded the blast as a "terrorist incident."

"The area surrounding Parsons Green tube station has been evacuated whilst emergency services continue to work at the scene of this morning’s incident," Met Police said in a statement.

The evacuation has been necessary whilst specialist officers secure the remnants of the improvised device and ensure it is stable, the police explained, adding that only a small number of residents will be affected by the evacuation, which covers an area with an approximate radius of 50 meters (164 feet).

Parsons Green station remains closed, and the public are advised to continue to avoid the area, the police added.</s>British authorities have confirmed an explosion at Parsons Green underground station was an act of terrorism and that several people have been injured.

Armed police rushed to an incident on Friday morning after reports of an explosion on a packed rush-hour commuter train. Police say the device did not fully detonate, according to Sky News.

Police said "a number of people" have been injured and St Mary's Hospital in Paddington has declared a major incident. London Ambulance Service said none of the injuries are serious or life threatening.

The Metropolitan Police tweeted: “The Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are investigating as Parsons Green tube station is declared a terrorist incident.

“Too early to confirm cause of fire - now subject to the investigation that is underway.

“Station is cordoned off. Please avoid the area.”

Prime Minister Theresa May is due to chair a Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBRA) meeting at 1pm local time.

In a statement, May said: “My thoughts are with those injured at Parsons Green and the emergency services who, once again, are responding swiftly and bravely to a suspected terrorist incident.”

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says people should “keep calm and go about their normal lives” as emergency services respond to the incident. He added that it would be “wrong to speculate.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan confirmed the Met Police are treating the train explosion as terrorism.

“Our city utterly condemns the hideous individuals who attempt to use terror to harm us and destroy our way of life,” he tweeted.

“As London has proven again and again, we will never be intimidated or defeated by terrorism.”

Commuters reported the explosion stemmed from a fire in a bucket, although the contents of the bucket are not known. Images and videos circulating on social media show what appears to be a burning bucket inside a shopping bag on the floor of the train.

READ MORE: Witnesses describe ‘fireball’ and ‘stampede’ in Parsons Green explosion</s>LONDON — London’s Metropolitan Police are investigating a Tube incident which has shut down part of a busy London Underground line as terrorism.

It’s not yet clear what caused the security alert, which occurred at about 8:20 a.m. local time (3:20 a.m. ET) at the height of rush hour on a busy commuter line into central London.

But witnesses told CNN they heard announcements from officials that “some kind of explosion” had occurred on a train at Parsons Green Tube station.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the senior national coordinator for counterterroism policing, has declared it a terrorist incident, the Met Police said in a statement.

Parsons Green station is closed, a large security cordon has been put in place and large numbers of emergency responders are at the scene.

London’s Metropolitan Police earlier tweeted: “We are aware of an incident at Parsons Green tube station. Officers are in attendance.”

London Ambulance Service said a number of responders, including its hazardous area response team, were at the scene alongside the police.

Natasha Wills, the ambulance service’s assistant director of operations, said: “Our initial priority is to assess the level and nature of injuries. More information will follow when we have it.”

Software developer Sylvain Pennec told the UK’s Press Association news agency he heard a “boom and when I looked there were flames all around.”

“People started to run but we were lucky to be stopping at Parsons Green as the door started to open.”

Richard Aylmer-Hall, 52, a media technology consultant, described “panic” on the train in an interview with PA .

“There was panic, lots of people shouting, screaming, lots of screaming,” he said.

“There was a woman on the platform who said she had seen a bag, a flash and a bang, so obviously something had gone off,” he said. “I saw two women being treated by ambulance crews.”

The Met Police said it was “aware of reports on social media” about Parsons Green, adding: “We will release facts when we can — our info must be accurate.”

Large numbers of emergency responders, including armed police officers, could be seen near Parsons Green station.

The security cordon around the station, which is above ground, has been extended and emergency vehicles could be seen continuing to arrive over an hour after the incident.

Parsons Green is an affluent, mainly residential area popular with young families in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, not far from Chelsea.

Train services between Earl’s Court and Wimbledon on the District Line have been suspended, Transport for London said. Customers are advised to take alternative routes.</s>Parson's Green London attack: This Morning to continue as normal after explosion is declared as a 'terrorist incident' THIS Morning will continues as normal after today's explosion at Parsons Green tube station in London.

On Friday morning it was reported that there had been an incident at the station in London.

BBC Breakfast initially broke the news about the explosion on a tube at Parsons Green.

The programme was interrupted to inform viewers of the news at around 8.49am.

It's now been confirmed that This Morning will continue with Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford presenting despite the ongoing incident.

A source for the series confirmed: "Show is going ahead as planned at the moment."

Breaking the news on Friday morning, BBC Breakfast presenters Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt stated: "We want to bring you right up to date with a breaking news story coming in this morning of reports coming in the last few minutes.

"Police are saying they are aware of an incident in London, this is Parsons Green's underground station, there were reports earlier on this morning about some sort of ‘explosion’ eye witnesses suggesting they heard an explosion this is at Parsons Green's underground station, which is of course on the District line."

They then went over to a reporter at the scene of the incident who gave an eye-witness account and said: "As you're speaking to me, they're moving people further and further away from Parsons Green's station."

"Police are not saying anything at the minute as they are not sure what has happened – witnesses saying a small fire or perhaps an explosion," they explained.

London's Metropolitan Police Service later tweeted to its 1.04million followers: "Police were called at approx. 8:20am to #ParsonsGreen following reports of an incident on a tube train.

"Officers attended with @BTP along with @LondonFire & @Ldn_Ambulance We would advise people to avoid the area. More info as we get it."

While more recently adding: "Emergency Services are still at Parsons Green tube station. We continue to ask Londoners to avoid the area. More info as and when verified."</s>According to Sky News there are six fire engines, two fire rescue units and 50 firefighters also at the London station. Traffic jams have been reported as far back as Putney as Police cordon at Parsons Green brings West London to a stand still. TfL's latest traffic update reported Fulham Road is currently closed: "Various closures around Parsons Green Station due to an emergency services incident. Fulham Road is closed at Parsons Green Lane." The Met Police said: "Police were called at approximately 08:20hrs on Friday, 15 September to Parsons Green Underground Station following reports of an incident on a tube train.

"Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service and British Transport Police are in attendance along with the London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service. "We would advise people to avoid the area." Transport for London confirmed it was investigating an incident at Parsons Green. It added: “Customers travelling between Wimbledon & Earl's Court are advised to use alternative routes.” The London Ambulance Service has now reported 19 people were taken to hospital following the blast.

A spokesperson for the LAS said: “A spokesperson for the LAS said: “Following the incident at Parsons Green this morning, we can confirm that we treated a total of 19 patients – mostly for minor injuries – and took the to three London hospitals." "We have sent multiple resources to the scene including single responders in cars, ambulance crews, incident response officers and our hazardous area response team, with the first of our medics arriving in under five minutes. "Our initial priority is to assess the level and nature of injuries. More information will follow when we have it." Greg Hands, the MP for the area, said: “Extremely concerned at this reported incident in my constituency at Parsons Green. Seeking more information.” Met Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said: "Today and over the weekend you can expect to see heightened police presence, particularly in crowded places." Following the Parsons Green terror attack, police are urging people to avoid the area and have cordoned off roads around the station.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Police were called at approximately 08:20hrs on Friday, 15 September to Parsons Green Underground Station following reports of a fire on the train. “Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the senior national coordinator for CT policing, has declared it a terrorist incident. “Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service and British Transport Police attended the scene, along with colleagues from the London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service. “At present, we are aware of a number of people who have suffered injuries. It is too early to confirm the cause of the fire, which will be subject to the investigation that is now underway by the Met's Counter Terrorism Command.” Police are urging people to avoid the area and have cordoned off roads around the station. The spokesman added: “We urge the public to remain calm but alert and if you have any concerns, see or hear anything suspicious then contact police.”</s>Updated at 9:20 a.m. ET

London's Metropolitan Police are investigating an explosion that struck a train at a subway station during rush hour Friday morning and injured at least 23 people, calling it an act of terrorism.

"We can confirm that we treated a total of 19 patients — mostly for minor injuries — and took them to three London hospitals" after the incident at the Parsons Green metro station," said Natasha Wills of the London Ambulance Service.

Four others went to London hospitals on their own following the incident at the above-ground station, the National Health Service says.

No deaths have been reported as a result of the blast, which seems to have left a small fire burning in a bucket inside the train car. Emergency calls went out at 8:20 a.m. local time, when a fire was reported at the Parsons Green station on the London Underground.

"There was an explosion on a tube train," Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley of the Metropolitan Police Service said at a news briefing. "We now assess that this was a detonation of an improvised explosive device. "

Of the injuries sustained, Rowley said, "I understand most of those to be flash burns."

Photos of some of the people who were in the area of the blast show singed hair and skin reddened by intense heat.

When Rowley was asked whether a suspect is in custody — or whether it's known if the person responsible for the device was still on the train when it exploded — he stated that the investigation was ongoing and that hundreds of detectives are working on it.

"Photos posted on social media show a white plastic bucket with flames coming out of the top — along with wires. The bucket is sitting next to a subway train door. A purse, apparently abandoned by a fleeing passenger, sits in the foreground. "The explosion occurred at the Parsons Green station in Fullham, which is about four miles southwest of Big Ben."



Providing more details about the blast, Metro.co.uk reports:



Witnesses say hundreds of people rushed to get out of the station. Police are asking members of the public to share any images and information they might have.

"The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that the explosion on a train at Parsons Green Station this morning is being treated as terrorism," London Mayor Sadiq Khan said. "Our city utterly condemns the hideous individuals who attempt to use terror to harm us and destroy our way of life."

Khan added that he is attending an emergency COBRA security meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May this afternoon.

President Trump said via a tweet, "Another attack in London by a loser terrorist.These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive!"

The United Kingdom has suffered four terrorist attacks since March, including vehicle attacks on London and Westminster Bridges and a bombing outside an Arianna Grande concert in Manchester.

This is a breaking news story. As often happens in situations like these, some information reported early may turn out to be inaccurate. We'll move quickly to correct the record and we'll only point to the best information we have at the time.
An explosion on a train at the Parsons Green tube station in London injures 29. Scotland Yard is treating the incident as a terrorist attack.