22 July 2005, London – Philippine Ambassador to the Court of St. James Edgardo B. Espiritu reported to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo that no Filipino has been reported injured in the explosions that took place in London shortly after noon of Thursday, 21 July 2005.

Citing police reports, Ambassador Espiritu said the explosions occurred on a bus in Hackney and in three underground train stations – Shepherds Bush, Oval and Warren Street.    Police described the blasts as not being in the magnitude of the July 7 bombs that killed 56 people and injured more than seven hundred.  Several hours after the latest explosions, only one person had been reported by London police and media as having been injured.

Ambassador Espiritu said that the Embassy is closely in touch with the emergency services, hospitals and the police in London to ascertain if any Filipino nationals are affected.   Earlier, the Embassy was able to contact, identify and offer assistance to the three Filipino victims known to have been injured during the bomb explosions on July 7.     The fact that there is a large number of Filipino nurses working in London hospitals assists the Embassy in quickly ascertaining whether a Filipino national is affected in any way in the bomb blasts.

On July 8, a day after the bomb blasts, Ambassador Espiritu issued an open letter to the Filipino community in the United Kingdom, in which he urged them to “exercise extreme vigilance, take sensible precautions, keep themselves informed on advisories from the security services, and avoid speculation and hearsay in order not to create panic and cause unnecessary anxiety.”   The Ambassador also informed the community that the Embassy had visited the injured Filipinos to ascertain their condition and their health, that it continued to coordinate with the hospital services, and that it would keep the community informed of any new developments.

“In the face of these new incidents, the Embassy is again prepared to lend any and all necessary assistance to members of the Filipino community who may be affected,” Ambassador Espiritu assured the Filipino community in the United Kingdom.  END
 
 

/bjg