Commuters stampeded out of an underground station in the City of London on Friday after a fire alarm was set off during a fight and false rumours circulated that somebody had a bomb.
Passengers have described terrifying scenes at Bank station in the heart of the capital’s financial district during the morning rush hour, when hundreds of people ran for their lives and dropped their luggage following an altercation.
British Transport Police (BTP) said officers attended Monument underground station, which is linked to Bank station, at 8.54am after a fire alarm was triggered. “Inquiries revealed there had been a fight,” it said in a statement. “During the fight the alarm was pressed. The station was evacuated as a precaution but has since reopened.”
Commuters said armed police ran towards the platforms as people were leaving via the stairs, while Transport for London (TfL) staff directed people towards the Monument exit.
Nothing gets the blood pumping quite like armed police running into your station while it's being evacuated #BankStation pic.twitter.com/aMXZC2513R
— Rich Wisken (@RichWisken) August 2, 2019
“The ‘Inspector Sands’ emergency code was being relayed from the loudspeaker, which was soon replaced with a pre-recorded emergency evacuation recording,” said Rich Wisken, who lives in east London. “A couple of armed policemen were shouting at people to get out of the way as they ran down the stairs.”
Another passenger, who formerly worked for a government department, also said the ‘Inspector Sands’ emergency code was being played over the tannoy. “I put it all together and thought there was a dangerous incident,” she said, asking not to be named.
“You assume it’s because of a bomb or someone having a weapon. And then to find out it was because of a fight. It was completely mismanaged. I’ve not seen anything like it. It was quite dangerous.”
What the hell just happened at Bank station!!?? Never been more scared in my life #bankstation
— Nags (@x_nags) August 2, 2019
TfL confirmed that the station was evacuated at about 8.50am, before being reopened 25 minutes later. A spokesman said it was standard practice to evacuate a station in the event of a fire alarm being set off.
Gemma Tolfree, from Wimbledon, said: “The train pulled up at Bank as normal and people got off. A minute later everyone on the platform ran towards the exits screaming. Someone from the platform shouted that someone had a bomb.”
A commuter from south London, who also wished not to be named, said people were “running for their lives”.
I can’t even get over how terrifying these ten minutes of running were this morning at #bankstation
— Matt Abrams (@MattJAbrams) August 2, 2019
Was talking with a woman outside of the station who had literally lost her shoes in the mass scramble. Again, @TfL deserve medals for their professionalismhttps://t.co/iHWodNdNEa
“As soon as the train pulled into the station, there was a stampede of people moving along the platform. People were screaming and shouting as they were being pushed. On the train, people started lying down on the floor and people from outside started to pile in as well.
“People who came on to the train were saying there was ‘someone with a gun’, which turned out not to be true. I can only describe the scenes as utter panic, people were running for their lives. On the train people were crying, shaking and in a state of complete shock. It was a terrifying experience.”
In a statement, BTP added: “Due to its close proximity, the fire alarm at Bank station was also triggered and the station was evacuated but has also since reopened. Two men have been arrested on suspicion of affray. They remain in police custody. No weapons are reported to have been seen during the fight.”
