Explosions hit London as G8 leaders meetLONDON (Reuters) - A series of explosions ripped through London's underground system on Thursday morning, killing several people, in what appeared to be co-ordinated attacks to coincide with the start of a G8 summit in Scotland.
Two people were killed in an explosion at Aldgate East tube, police said.
"(We can) confirm there were two fatalities at Aldgate East station this morning," a police spokeswoman said.
Blasts were also reported on buses. Eyewitnesses said the top was ripped off a double-decker bus near Russell Square close to King's Cross station.
They saw the twisted wreckage of a second bus nearby.
People were seen streaming out of one underground station covered with blood and soot. Passengers were evacuated from stations across the capital, many in shock and with their clothes ripped to shreds, witnesses said.
A doctor at Aldgate tube in the east of the financial centre of the city said there were at least 90 casualties there.
The cause of the blasts, which occurred one day after London was awarded the 2012 Olympics, was unknown, but police said many of the city's underground stations were affected.
Initially, rail officials blamed the explosions on a power surge.
"It is too early to state what has happened," a London police spokesman said. "I cannot comment on reports of bombs, but we have had multi-reports of explosions around London."
Another police spokesman said: "There have been some casualties and this has been declared a major incident."
Security experts said the incidents bore all the hallmarks of terror network al Qaeda.
"If we what are looking at is a simultaneous bombing -- and it does look like that -- it would very certainly fit the classic al Qaeda methodology," said Dr. Shane Brighton, intelligence expert at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence.
MARKETS HIT HARD
Financial markets took fright, with stocks diving and demand for government bonds and safe-haven currencies soaring.
The first reports of blasts centred on the city's underground rail system.
Emergency services rushed to Aldgate East at 8:59 a.m.
"There were people streaming out of Aldgate station covered in blood," said witness Kate Heywood, 27, on her way to work.
A Reuters correspondent at Oxford Circus tube heard an announcement over the public-address system saying: "A power outage has occurred London-wide. All train services are suspended."
Police sealed off large areas around other underground and mainline rail stations. Firemen donned chemical protection suits before rushing into stations.
Half a dozen people with soot-blackened faces and dishevelled clothes sat on the floor at Russell Square station or stood in shock as police cordoned off the area and ambulance crews raced in, one witness said.
The Great Eastern Hotel, which was hosting a conference on the Israeli economy, was evacuated. Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to attend the conference but had not arrived
