North Greenwich station: Counter-terror probe as Tube train 'suspect item' blown up by bomb squad

WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Counter-terror police have today launched an investigation after a suspicious package found on a packed London Underground train was exploded by the bomb squad.

Officers were called to North Greenwich station near The O2 Arena after staff reported finding a suspicious item on a train travelling eastbound on the Jubilee Line just after 11am.

The “suspicious item” was spotted on an eastbound train and the station was closed and evacuated before the bomb squad carried out a controlled explosion.

Photos from inside the deserted station showed a blast curtain put up at platform 3, with officers working behind.

Bomb squad: A blast curtain was put up at one of the platforms
Daniel O'Mahony

North Greenwich station remained shut until around 6.15pm, causing chaos for travellers and commuters in south London.

The security emergency caused massive transport problems for fans of the band Nickelback who were due to play at the O2 arena tonight as North Greenwich station remained closed.

Cordoned off: The scene inside North Greenwich station
Daniel O'Mahony

Officials suggested they use boat, cable car or Docklands Light Rail services to reach the venue.

Police tonight urged commuters on the Tube and rail network to be vigilant and report anything suspicious.

Alarms: The station was evacuated at around 11.30am this morning. (Dan Worth, Twitter)
Dan Worth, Twitter.

Counter terrorism detectives are tonight scouring CCTV systems along the Jubilee line in a massive operation to identify who carried the item onto the train and where.

A spokesman for the Met Police said: "While we are keeping an open mind, the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command is leading the investigation because it has the expertise to deal with incidents of this kind.

"British Transport Police is supporting them in their investigation."

James Nunns told the Standard: "I've left the area now, but the alarms started going off to tell everyone to evacuate.

Ghost town: The area around the O2 and station was evacuated.
@norrisollie Twitter

"The police then showed up and asked everyone to urgently evacuate the area.

"Bit of pandemonium but the station was evacuated quickly and a friendly London bus driver let all passengers on for free."

A spokesman for The O2 said: "We closed Up at The O2 as a cordon was in place around North Greenwich tube station.

"That cordon has now been reduced but we’re staying closed until the situation at North Greenwich is resolved."

Anyone saw anything suspicious on the train should call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in