A “large bang” echoed through the air in London’s Trafalgar Square on Saturday morning amid the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend — but police say it was a “controlled” blast.
Global News crews were on the scene when the blast went off near Canada House, which is the Canadian high commission in the U.K.
Trafalgar Square is part of the area where crowds gathered in the tens of thousands two days ago for the Trooping the Colour parade marking the Queen’s official birthday.
It links to Buckingham Palace by The Mall.
“It was suspicious and we’ve done a controlled explosion on it. So please don’t panic. You heard a bang, it wasn’t necessarily a device but we have to do it that way. So that’s what the large bang was,” said one officer with the London Metropolitan Police who spoke with reporters briefly on the scene.
“It was a vehicle.”
News crews stand on a central London, U.K., street near where a large blast was heard Saturday morning. Police say it was a controlled explosion of a suspicious vehicle. Kurt Brownridge/Global News.
Kurt Brownridge/Global News
The nature of what made police suspicious about the vehicle is not yet clear.
Trending Stories
Canada alarmed as Chinese fighter pilots ‘buzz’ Canadian planes over international waters
U.S. FDA warns against heart inflammation risk from Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
The police officer told crews on the ground they do not expect any further explosions.
In all, the incident played out over the course of roughly one hour beginning at roughly 10:50 a.m. local time in London when police set up a perimeter before detonating the vehicle.
Security is heightened amid Platinum Jubilee celebrations and the noise of the blast quickly sent jitters through the area as reports of an unknown explosion circulated on social media. Terrorism threat levels are currently rated as “significant” in the U.K., meaning an attack is likely.
It’s the third level on a five-tier scale rating the perceived risk by authorities of a potential attack.
The Canadian high commission was put into a hold and secure positioning, according to Global News crews on the ground outside the building. Global Affairs Canada has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Shortly after the detonation, police confirmed they were the ones responsible for the blast and just before noon local time, police reopened the area.
With files from Global’s Kurt Brownridge, Mark Blanchard and David Della Harpe.
More to come.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
