Police stand guard near the Parsons Green tube station in London, Britain, on Sept. 15, 2017. An explosion in a subway station in west London is being treated as terrorist incident, British counter terrorism sources said Friday. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
LONDON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- London police on Friday declared an explosion in a subway station in the western part of the British capital an "terrorist incident."
"Terrorist incident declared at Parsons Green Underground Station," the police said in a statement, adding that a number of people were injured. Some report said 18 people were taken to hospital.
Armed police and emergency services are seen on the scene shortly after the explosion was reported in on the packed rush-hour carriage at 8:21 a.m. BST on Friday.
In response, British Prime Minister Theresa May will hold a meeting meeting of COBRA emergency committee at 1:00 p.m. BST on Friday. The committee consists of members of the government, emergency and intelligence services.
Meanwhile, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that they were "not intimidated" by the terrorist incident.
One witness reported seeing "a flash and a bang" in a bag holding the container, which is said to have had wires coming from it, on the packed rush-hour carriage.
The blast left commuters with "facial burns" after a "fireball flew down a carriage," witnessed said. Commuters are fleeing Parsons Green subway station as emergency services arrive on the scene.
A number of injuries appeared to have stemmed from a crush of people trying to leave the station.
The incident created chaos in the area as the subway service was shut down and police stopped people from getting close.
The blast took place after three deadly terrorist attacks in London this year -- Westminster Bridge, London Bridge and Finsbury Park, and one in Manchester at an Ariana Grande concert.
