Families visit attack scenes

2005-07-24 21:35

London - Families of the people killed in London's July 7 terrorist attacks were brought Sunday to grieve at the scenes where their loved ones died.

At Aldgate Underground railway station, police cordoned off the sidewalks outside with blue and red tape to keep the press and public away.

Two Red Cross medics were on hand in case the grieving relatives were overcome.

A man and two women were the first to arrive on the gray London day, one of the women clutching a simple bouquet of red and white flowers in her hand.

Emerging about 15 minutes later, one of the women was visibly moved, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand before climbing back into the police escort vehicle that had brought them to the station, which is due to reopen to the public in the coming week.

Denise Baisden, 58, leaned on the arm of her sister for support after visiting the site where her son died.

Lee Baisden was a 34-year-old fire brigade accountant from London.

"Today is part of an ongoing process of support we have," said police family liaison advisory team spokesperson Jed Ashcroft.

Grieving process

"Difficult as it may be, I think that part of the grieving process necessitates a visit to the scene."

Fifty-two people and four suicide bombers died on July 7 when bombs tore through three Underground trains and a bus in central London at rush hour.

About 230 relatives and friends of the killed and injured attended a special briefing by police, designed to update them on the investigation.

Among them were some of the walking wounded - one man still had his right eye patched; another was on crutches.

"People have been upset but very emotional, but the briefing was worthwhile and we hope the families have got something out of it," said Annette Wightman, in charge of the police's family assistance centre.

"Some people did have concerns about the investigation and other people were positive and supportive, so it was a mix of emotions."

Reporters were not allowed to talk with the participants.

Police killing

As the relatives grieved, the cousin of a man police mistook for a terrorist suspect and killed on Friday visited the scene of the shooting.

Alex Pereira, 28, said he wanted to take the same route that his cousin Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, did before he was shot by police at Stockwell station in south London.

The Metropolitan police department acknowledged and apologised for the mistake on Saturday.

De Menezes, a 27-year-old electrician from Brazil, had been on his way to a call to fix an alarm, Pereira told reporters.

"They killed him here because they had to show off," he said while standing inside Stockwell station.

He added that he felt officers could have confronted him any number of times before the station, where they chased him on to a train.

"Police had plenty of time to stop him," Pereira said.

- AP