LUSITANIA AND SUBWAY BOMBING IN LONDON

Lusitania in 1915 and Subway Bombing in London in 2005



Lusitania in 1915 and Subway Bombing in London in 2005

Introduction

One look at the effects of a bomb blast suggests that you'd have to be extremely lucky to emerge from one unscathed. If you were not burned by the explosion or blasted by shrapnel, the chances are you'd be hit by the shock wave. Travelling at several hundred metres per second, this causes massive fluctuations in air pressure which can knock you unconscious, rupture air-filled organs such as eardrums, lungs and bowels, and stretch and distort other major organs. Simple concussion from a blow to the head is not a new problem, of course. Common causes are falls, car accidents or sports such as rugby and football. It can lead to a brief loss of consciousness, amnesia or confusion. Although longer-lasting symptoms are occasionally reported, sufferers usually recover within days or weeks. (Ohbu 2007)

This paper explores the psychological effects of disasters like London Subway Bombing during 2005, and sinking of the Lusitania in 1915.

London Subway Bombing

Four bombs exploded in three subway stations and on one double-decker bus during the morning rush hour, killing 52 people plus 4 bombers, and wounding more than 700. Three of the four suicide bombers were Muslims of ethnic Pakistani origin born in Britain. A group calling itself the Secret Organization of al-Qaeda in Europe claimed responsibility on a web site, asserting that the attacks were a retaliation for Britain's involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This was the first suicide bombing in Western Europe. (North 2008)

Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair confirmed that three explosions occurred in the subway on trains near the Oval station on the Northern line, Warren Street station on the Northern and Victoria lines and Shepherd's Bush station on the Hammersmith and City line, and that a fourth explosion took place on a bus traveling in the Hackney neighborhood of east London. None of the presumed bombs appeared to have detonated properly. Officials were hoping that the leftover explosives would provide a wealth of forensic evidence to help investigators hunt down whoever planted them. Obviously, this has been another difficult day. Clearly, the intention must have been to kill. Police officials said it was too early to tell whether the failed bombings were the doings of an Al Qaeda or affiliated cell. (Breslau 2009)

The London Subway Bombing had adverse health impacts far beyond the immediate deaths and injuries from the acute event. It can be estimated that more than 100,000 adults experienced new or worsening respiratory symptoms after London Subway Bombing and that tens of thousands of cases of probable PTSD and thousands of cases of newly diagnosed asthma developed in the first 2 to 3 years after the event. The research raise awareness that these adverse health impacts extended beyond workers involved in rescue and recovery to encompass building occupants, residents, passersby, and people in transit in London Subway ...