None of the approximately 30 University students studying abroad in London were hurt in Thursday’s terrorist attacks on three subway cars and a bus, University officials said last week.
New evidence suggests four attackers blew themselves up in what would be the first suicide terror attacks in Western Europe, authorities said Tuesday.
The attacks killed at least 52 people and injured more than 700.
Alli Pettersen, a University continuing education senior, is living in London and has an internship with Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Approximately 10 minutes before Pettersen would have arrived at the Liverpool Street subway station to go to work Thursday, one of the bombs went off, she said.
Pettersen said she was running late the morning of the attack and would’ve been at the station at the time of the bombing had she been on time.
“I have been traveling to work on the train system, spending about an hour both ways on the tube,” she said. “The fact that I was supposed to be there at the time this happened really gets my nerves going.”
Pettersen said the underground train system is vital for people getting to and from their destinations. Authorities temporarily shut down the subway system following the bombings.
“People are stranded without a way to get home and the buses are not as efficient as the train,” she said. “So many people are walking the streets to get home.”
Although Pettersen said she is nervous about the incident and riding the train again, she is going to try to act as if nothing happened.
“The incident is similar to 9/11; you don’t stop living your daily life because of it,” she said.
Pettersen said the bombing took away the excitement of the city winning the 2012 Summer Olympics on July 6. Although the mood of the city has changed, she said she feels the residents will overcome the situation.
“I’m sure after this, nobody can ruin their parade,” she said.
Prime Minister Tony Blair called the coordinated attacks “barbaric” and said they were designed to coincide with the G-8 summit opening in Gleneagles, Scotland.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the explosions have the “hallmark” of an al-Qaida-related attack.
Authorities said they believe the four blasts went off simultaneously Thursday morning. Immediately after the explosions, officials temporarily shut down the subway and bus lines that log 8.4 million passenger trips every weekday.
Public transit officials said the number of passengers using London’s vast bus and subway network, which handles 3 million people on a typical day, was back to normal Monday.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.