On Wednesday 4th October 2017, a suspected bomb package was found outside Islington Station. The police were able to conduct a controlled explosion of the package and managed to stabilise the situation. However, for the people trapped inside Islington Station during this ordeal, it was a different story, and my dad was one of these people.
He was waiting for the Underground when all of a sudden, the Underground staff was telling everyone that the police were outside and that they had to evacuate the station immediately. At this point, everyone ran towards the nearest exits only to find that they were blocked so people began to head back down and wait on the platform. By then, there was a lot of confusion and people did not know what to do. My dad said that he did the only thing that he could think of in that situation: be calm and wait for either staff or police to tell them what to do.
Suddenly, a voice on the megaphone could be heard, saying that everyone should wait on the platforms for the next trains to come in and take everyone to the nearest station. The people already on those trains were told to remain on them and not get out, so instead, were packed in with everyone else. After this point, everyone was evacuated out of Islington Station.
During this incident, there was a lot of chaos and confusion associated with the situation. Despite this, my dad described the situation as being, ‘Handled well; there was a little bit of confusion at the beginning, but ultimately well coordinated.’
Thankfully, during this incident, no one was killed or injured and the package was said to be a hoax; thus at 19:34h, it was dropped.
By Melissa Alvarez, Newstead Wood School
