Tube driver 'the luckiest man'

2005-07-11 15:33

London - A London Underground driver who saw a bomb explode on a subway train next to his during last week's attacks said on Monday he feels like "the luckiest man alive".

Jeff Porter said he was driving his Circle Line train into the Edgware Road station on Thursday morning when the bomb detonated, destroying a train heading in the opposite direction and shattering his windshield.

Porter said: "As the driver's cab was just passing mine, I saw a bright yellow light on the train on the other side.

"It was like it happened in slow motion in my mind. As the other train passed me, my windscreen shattered. There was smoke and dust everywhere."

Porter quickly began evacuating his passengers, one of whom recorded the confusion with his mobile phone, capturing Porter shouting, "Stay calm!"

Porter said: "I must be the luckiest man alive. If it had been a second later that the explosion happened, I wouldn't be here speaking to you.

We were so lucky the blast happened when it did and not one to 10 seconds afterwards, because the casualty numbers would have been doubled."

- AP