'I was very lucky'

2005-07-08 10:28

Anri Cronje

Kimberley - If a doctor from Kimberley had left the house of his friend in London at the planned time on Thursday he, too, could have been one of the casualties of the bomb attack which rocked this city.

Dr André Rose, 30, said it is a "blessing" that he left the house of his friend in Ladbroke Grove on the outskirts of London 15 minutes later than planned.

"I was very lucky. I was on the Hammersmith railway line en route to Liverpool station. This train runs through the Edgeware station.

"Three stops before Edgware Road, the bomb exploded there. If I had left my friend's house on time, I would have been there."

Rose, temporarily working in London, wanted to visit art galleries in central London early on Thursday morning before reporting to the Whipps Cross hospital for duty at 16:00.

He was late and only caught the train at 08:45.

"After a short distance, a public announcement came. The voice said the train couldn't go any further due to a delay."

"The story kept on changing. Shortly thereafter, we were informed that there had been a fire at a station. Then the train stopped."

Next, it was announced that trips on the King's Cross line had been terminated and passengers were requested to vacate the train.

Rose then set off on foot for Bakerloo station, but there everyone, too, was requested to vacate the building.

"The announcer said there had been an emergency at Edgware Road and that the entire underground system is shutting down."

Finally deciding to catch a bus, he learned that the "emergency" at Edgware Road had been a bomb and not a fire.

"Although it had probably been a terrorist attack, the people around me remained very calm."

When he heard a double-decker bus had exploded in the city centre, he had a fright and got off at the nearest stop.

"I decided not to go anywhere on a train or a bus. There were a lot of sirens. I saw a lot of policemen and emergency vehicles in the streets."

- Volksblad