Breaking News / Multiple people suffer burns in London subway explosion; tourism bureau: No reports of Taiwanese casualties yet

▲ Explosion at Parsons Green subway station in southwest London, UK. (Photo / Reuters)

Reported by Lai Wen-xuan / Taipei

An explosion occurred at Parsons Green subway station in southwest London, UK, leaving multiple passengers with facial burns, and the number of casualties is still being tallied. The tourism bureau reported that so far, no travel agencies have informed them of any affected tour groups. Additionally, the Taipei Representative Office in the UK stated that they have not received any reports of incidents involving Taiwanese nationals and will closely monitor the evolving situation.

The tourism bureau stated that after contacting major travel agencies operating in Central and Western Europe, Taiwanese tour groups in London primarily use buses as transportation and should not be affected by the subway explosion. However, the bureau will send SMS notifications to industry associations to inform travel agencies to stay alert to the security situation in the area and adjust itineraries as needed to ensure traveler safety.

▲ Explosion at Parsons Green subway station in southwest London, with no reports of Taiwanese injuries so far. (Photo / Reuters)

According to BBC reports, police have been alerted and dispatched to the scene to assess further developments, and the area has been urgently evacuated. It is understood that a netizen near the incident site photographed what appeared to be an explosive device in a white bucket and uploaded it to Twitter. Eyewitnesses also reported that many passengers suffered facial burns, with some even losing hair due to the flames. The UK counter-terrorism department has issued a statement classifying this explosion as a terrorist attack and will proceed with relevant counter-terrorism measures.