London suicide bombing report urges better emergency response

May 6, 2011, 13:51 GMT

London - The suicide attacks on London's transport system that left 52 dead and injured more than 700 in July 2005 could not have been prevented, an inquest ruled Friday, while also urging an improvement in future emergency responses.

Heather Hallett, the coroner who compiled the report, said there was no evidence that any 'organizational or individual failings caused or contributed to the deaths' of the victims.

The four bombers, all British-born Muslims who had undergone training in Pakistan, died in the simultaneous attacks on three Underground (Tube) trains and a double-decker bus on July 7, 2005.

'I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that each of the victims would have died whatever time the emergency services reached and rescued them,' stated Hallett.

Nonetheless, she made a string of recommendations on how the response of the rescue services to such an emergency could be improved in the future.

The judge said she was especially concerned about the lack of resources and funding for the London Air Ambulance Service, which relies largely on volunteers and funding from charitable groups.

'I am concerned that London, a major global capital, host to the 2012 Olympics and a prime terrorist target, should find itself dependent upon corporate funding and charitable donations, and upon professional volunteers giving up their limited free time in order to provide life-saving emergency medical care,' she said.

During the five-months hearing, more the 300 witnesses - including survivors, rescuers and relatives of the victims - gave harrowing accounts of the events of the day - but also told countless stories of extreme courage and individual bravery.

Responding to the concerns raised in the testimony about the emergency response, Hallett's recommendations include a review of inter-agency training of frontline staff dealing with major incidents, the equipment of Underground trains with first-aid kits and the storage of stretchers at Tube stations.

Communication networks needed to be improved after it was found that mobile phones and police radios did not work underground.

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