**LEAD STORY**
One person was killed and eight others were injured when a bomb ripped through the top portion of a London double-decker bus on Sunday night. London police said that they did not receive any prior warning of the blast, as is the usual case. Speculation is now centered around the bomb accidently went off and the bus was not the target of the blast. The person who was killed most likely was an IRA terrorist transporting the device from one place to another.
The bomb exploded in the late evening at 10:38 p.m. (1738 EST) in the Aldwych area of central London, near the intersection of Wellington Street near the Strand. The bus exploded near the Waldorf Hotel and had been any other night than a Sunday, the street and bus probably would had been filled with theater-goers.
The Number 171 bus had reportedly just crossed Waterloo Bridge and turned into Aldwych when the bomb went off. The area of the blast is near the London School of Economics, the headquarters of the BBC World Service and Somerset House, which is a palace that was built in 1550.
Witnesses said that the explosion ripped the bus apart like a sardine can. The entire top of the bus was ripped open and the lower portion was gutted by fire. One witness to the blast said, "I was walking down the road and I saw a big white flash in the sky. I looked and then I saw a double-decker bus but there was nothing left of it. It was completely blown to pieces." Another man who witnessed the tragedy said, "The bomb was on the bus. It blew the whole top deck clean off. It was definitely planted on the top deck. There was no ceiling, no roof.
Five pieces of fire equipment and a number of ambulances immediately responded to the explosion and were on the scene within moments. London Ambulance Service said that a total of eight victims were taken to area hospitals. Another witness told, "I saw one woman who looked severely injured, she was lying in a pool of her own blood, there was blood on her head. She was motionless."
Six of the injured victims were taken to nearby St.Thomas' Hospital. A doctor at St.Thomas' said, "Five men and one woman, all relatively young adults, were brought by ambulance to the hospital. Three of them have significant head injuries, one lady and two men." The other victims that were brought to the hospital were said to have only minor superficial injuries and lacerations to the body. The doctor also said, "The man with the most severe head injuries has significant facial injuries and arterial bleeding."
The director of the north-east division of the London Ambulance Service said, "The staff in central ambulance control heard the explosion and were therefore able to mobilize necessary resources immediately. I am delighted that once again LAS staff responded in such a professional manner." Emergency workers who responded to the scene of the blast were amazed that there were not more casualties.
On Monday, the Belfast, Northern Ireland, office of the British Broadcasting Corporation received a telephone call stating that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was claiming responsibility for Sunday's blast.
In a statement to the BBC, the IRA said, "The bomb which exploded last night was one of our devices. We can say at this stage we regret the loss of life and injuries which occurred."
Commander Tony Rowe of Scotland Yard said that police are working on the theory that the bomb went off accidentlly while it was being transported to its target. Police believe that the person who was killed was the bomb carrier. It would not be the first time that an IRA bomb had gone off accidentally killing the carrier.
This was the third bombing attack in nine days in London by the IRA. It is believed that the terrorist organization intends to target London and not Northern Ireland in its campaign of terror. The main reason for targeting London is because of the publicity that it can receive.
(c) EmergencyNet News Service, 1996, All Rights reserved.