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7/7 Tube passenger blown out of carriage by bombing | |
(40 minutes later) | |
A survivor of the 7 July blast at Edgware Road Tube station has told an inquest how he was standing next to the bomb when it detonated. | A survivor of the 7 July blast at Edgware Road Tube station has told an inquest how he was standing next to the bomb when it detonated. |
Daniel Biddle, 31, was blown from the carriage and lost both legs, his left eye, his spleen and pints of blood. | |
He told the inquest into the 2005 attacks he was "terrified... and thought I was going to die". | He told the inquest into the 2005 attacks he was "terrified... and thought I was going to die". |
Mohammad Sidique Khan killed himself and six other people when he detonated the device on the Circle Line train. | |
Mr Biddle also said a 20p piece remained lodged in his thigh bone, and that other shrapnel, including his door keys, was removed by surgeons. | |
Attending the Royal Courts of Justice for the inquest, Mr Biddle, a construction manager, said he had been blown out of the westbound train as he travelled to work. | |
He described how Khan, who got on the train at King's Cross, sat between 6ft and 10ft away from him before detonating his bomb by pulling a white cord. | He described how Khan, who got on the train at King's Cross, sat between 6ft and 10ft away from him before detonating his bomb by pulling a white cord. |
Mr Biddle said: "The train entered the Tube tunnel, I looked around. | Mr Biddle said: "The train entered the Tube tunnel, I looked around. |
"As I looked around, he looked up and I saw a quick movement. Then there was a big white flash. | "As I looked around, he looked up and I saw a quick movement. Then there was a big white flash. |
"The kind of noise you get when you tune a radio in. It felt like the carriage I was in expanded at a fast rate and then contracted quickly. | "The kind of noise you get when you tune a radio in. It felt like the carriage I was in expanded at a fast rate and then contracted quickly. |
"And with that it blew me off my feet and through the carriage doors into the tunnel." | "And with that it blew me off my feet and through the carriage doors into the tunnel." |
He also said that Khan "looked up and along the carriage and just looked down" before he set the device off. | He also said that Khan "looked up and along the carriage and just looked down" before he set the device off. |
"He didn't say anything or shout anything I remember hearing. He got his head down, moved his arm and the next thing I am outside the train." | "He didn't say anything or shout anything I remember hearing. He got his head down, moved his arm and the next thing I am outside the train." |
'If only' | |
Mr Biddle was taken to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington and the inquest heard how his heart was massaged by hand as medical staff fought to save his life. | |
He spent several weeks in a coma and needed dozens of pints of blood in transfusions. | |
Earlier, the inquest heard how he had caught that particular Tube train because he was running late after waking with a migraine. | |
He let the first train to arrive at Liverpool Street pass because it was so crowded and then missed his stop at Baker Street because he was sending a text message. | |
"People were getting on and off. I didn't really pay particular attention to anybody," he said. "I saw a young Asian guy get on King's Cross and sort of walk along the carriage and sit down, but I didn't really think anything of it." | |
"There was nothing about him that made me think he was a danger." | |
Coroner Lady Justice Hallett said the words "if only" must resonate in the minds of many of the survivors and their families. | |
She told Mr Biddle: "Given the large number of factors that combined to put you on that train, I pray they do not haunt you. | |
"You have suffered so much and your survival is inspirational." |