CNN.com - Rail blasts 'almost simultaneous'

A relative, name not given, places a poster of a missing person at Kings Cross Station.

WATCH

Browse/Search

Underground blasts were almost simultaneous(2:23)

Friends, family find no answers in search for missing(3:28)

Crowds in Rome show solidarity with British(1:36)

Stalwart Londoners carry on after the bombings(3:22)

SPECIAL REPORT

• Witnesses tell of subway horror

• Timeline: Minute-by-minute

• Maps and Galleries: The blasts

• Send your stories, photos

• Special Report

Gallery: Search for missing in London bombings

• Audio Slide Show: London terror

• Gallery: World leaders react

• Gallery: British papers respond

• Eyewitness: 'Absolutely horrific'

• Gallery: London Underground

• Timeline: Past train attacks

• Gallery: Nations raise security

QUICKVOTE

YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A string of bombs that ripped through three London Underground trains went off within seconds, authorities said, adding that the blasts were so strong none of the victims have been identified.

Technical data and witness accounts suggest the bombs contained synchronized timing devices and were probably not triggered by suicide bombers, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick told reporters Saturday.

"A slightly different picture is emerging around the timing of these bomb incidents," Paddick said, revising original accounts that the train blasts occurred over a 26-minute span Thursday morning.

"All three bombs on the London Underground system actually exploded within seconds of each other, at 8:50 in the morning," he said. Nearly an hour later, at 9:47 a.m., a fourth explosion tore through a double-decker bus.

"It was bang, bang, bang, very close together," London Underground managing director Tim O'Toole said of the train blasts. (Timeline)

More than 50 people were killed and 700 injured in the rush-hour blasts. Scotland Yard Commissioner Ian Blair said the total death toll would rise, but probably not above 100.

Meanwhile, late Saturday, police in Birmingham evacuated thousands of people from its major entertainment district due to intelligence it had received, according to West Midlands Police.

Spokeswoman Jackie Harrison said police warned about 200 bars, restaurants and shops along Broad Street that there had been a threat, and ordered owners to search their properties and incoming customers.

Police carried out a controlled explosion on a bus on Corporation Street to destroy a suspicious bag.

It turned out to be nothing dangerous, Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hyde said. He didn't say what was in the bag, and provided no other details about the threat.

Type of bombs

The bombs were composed of "high explosives" and probably not homemade material, police said. ('Level of sophistication')

"But whether it is military explosive, whether it is commercial explosive, whether it is plastic explosive, we do not want to say at this stage," Paddick said.

The bombs used in the attacks held less than 10 pounds of explosives each -- light enough to easily tote in a bag or knapsack, police said. (Bombs small, portable)

Police said they were still unclear whether the person who planted the bus bomb died in the explosion or was even on the bus at the time. They said the device was in a bag and not strapped to an individual.

"There is a possibility that the person with the bomb died on the bus, there is a possibility they left the bomb," Paddick said. "We're not ruling anything out, we're not ruling anything in."

The roof of the bus was blown off and has been taken away for examination, and the site will be closed for some time while "fingertip examinations" take place, police said.

A day after bus service was restored and most Underground lines reopened, rider volume was light and passengers remained wary.

"Everyone's looking around a little bit more," student William Palmer, 23, told The Associated Press Saturday.

Could be weeks before IDs known

Scotland Yard said 49 bodies have been recovered and that more bodies were still trapped underground. But the remains were so mangled and difficult to retrieve that authorities have yet to identify a single body.

"It is a very harrowing task," Detective Superintendent Jim Dickie told reporters. "Most of the victims have suffered intensive trauma, and by that I mean there are body parts as well as torsos."

Dickie said the process would get under way later Saturday, and that forensics experts would use fingerprints, dental records and DNA analysis to help put names to the bodies.

Only the 13 bodies from the bus bombing have arrived at the temporary mortuary, Dickie said, and it could be weeks before the identities are released.

Authorities said rescue crews were hampered by dangerous conditions in the Piccadilly Line tunnel between the King's Cross and Russell Square stations, where at least 21 people died.

Deputy Chief Constable Andy Trotter of the British Transport Police said it was not clear how many bodies remained trapped.

The search to recover bodies near King's Cross was halted overnight because of "increasingly difficult conditions, but resumed again this morning," Trotter said Saturday.

"It is extremely hot and very dusty and it is a great challenge for them to continue their work to recover the remaining bodies from the train underground," he said.

The forensic investigation continues at the two other bombing sites near Edgware Road and Aldgate East stations.

Video from closed circuit television cameras in tunnels and around the bus will play "a major part in this investigation," Trotter said. (CCTV clues)

Agonizing search for missing

With no official list of the victims published, relatives and friends continued their agonizing search for missing relatives.

In a chilling flashback to the aftermaths of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the Indian Ocean tsunami, loved ones trawled hospitals and streets desperately looking for information.

"I just have to find him," said Yvonne Nash, who was searching for her boyfriend, Jamie Gordon, in Tavistock Square where the bus exploded. (Search for missing; Gallery)

Flowers, notes and appeals for information were piled outside King's Cross station. "Barbarism will never kill freedom," read one note in French. "Madrid is with London," said another.

Police were opening a 24-hour reception center to provide information and support to families as investigators work to identify the victims. Authorities said they have received more than 100,000 calls about possible missing persons.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was crucial to address terrorism's underlying causes, which he listed as deprivation, lack of democracy and the ongoing Middle East conflict. (Full story)

The attacks came as Blair was hosting the G8 summit in Scotland and a day after London was awarded the 2012 Olympics. (G8 summit; Olympics)

On Friday, Queen Elizabeth II visited a hospital in London's East End sent a message of defiance to terrorists on behalf of the British people. (Full story)

"Those who perpetrate these brutal acts against innocent people should know that they will not change our way of life," she told staff at the Royal London Hospital.

Britain's top law enforcement official said Friday police were searching for the bombers before they had a chance to strike again.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke said the government was taking seriously a claim of responsibility on the Internet from a group calling itself "The Group of al Qaeda of Jihad Organization in Europe." The authenticity of the claim could not be verified. (Group's claim; Analysis)

Rail blasts 'almost simultaneous'

Scare in Birmingham