The 7/7 bombing inquest has revealed stories not only of horror but also incredible bravery on the part of rescue services and commuters caught in the terrorist attacks on July 7, 2005.
Families at the inquest listened to shocking descriptions of their loved ones’ ordeal, hearing in minute detail how victims were sitting or standing when the blasts happened, what their injuries were and whether they suffered.
Hugo Keith QC told those at the inquest that in most cases, death was instant.
Tales of bravery and heroism
The inquest heard how commuters showed “remarkable heroism” in the wake of the July 7 bombings.
One off-duty doctor ignored orders to leave the Tube train which was bombed at Aldgate and instead climbed in to tend to casualties. Off-duty police officer Elizabeth Kenworthy, on the same train, applied life-saving tourniquets to Andrew Brown and Martine Wright, who lost both legs in the blast.
Another passenger, Steve Hucklesby, used handrails to make his way across the bombed carriage to give CPR to a woman lying with her eyes open.
Keith said: “The terrible tragedy led to remarkable acts of heroism as the trains came to rest alongside each other.
“The horror of what had happened became apparent to the occupants of the other train. The devastated carriage was inches away, so they exited through smashed windows and clambered across the tracks to help.
“These individuals assisted the injured and dying prior to the arrival of the emergency services. Their assistance was significant.”
Details of casualties
The inquest heard in painful detail how each of the victims of the 7/7 bombings died, beginning with Lee Baisden, 34, was the who was standing next to bomber Shehzad Tanweer when the device was detonated at 8.49am on a Circle Line train near Aldgate station.
“The bomb blew a hole in the carriage floor and Mr Baisden’s body was seen by a number of witnesses to be very near the crater that it left,” said Keith.
“He had flash and deep burns over his entire face and neck and the lower parts of both legs had been amputated.”
Video footage of the bombing aftermath
Videos of all four bomb scenes were shown for the first time at the inquest, revealing devastated carriages filled with evidence of the lives that were lost including abandoned handbags, water bottles and newspapers.
Shattered glass, twisted metal poles and pools of blood testify to the terrifying reality of the day’s events.
