Disruption at St Pancras (Possible Bomb Threat) 18/08/26

[renegademaster]

This happened at East Croydon in 2019(?)and it was a builder from a nearby site taking a nap in his car

 

[styles]

This happened at East Croydon in 2019(?)and it was a builder from a nearby site taking a nap in his car

Did he open the bonnet before the bomb disposable robot blew him up?

 

[Acathater]

Yes - I think the other poster is just highlighting that it's interesting the bonnet appears to have been opened manually, before or after detonation, but all the doors are closed and the wing mirrors are folded in which on that model of Juke implies they're locked.

The driver's window has been blown outward so something got inside the car.
Also significant damage to the boot / under boot area. Where is the battery on one of these? The electrics could well be blown by the robots attack

 

[Nottingham59]

Yes - I think the other poster is just highlighting that it's interesting the bonnet appears to have been opened manually, before or after detonation, but all the doors are closed and the wing mirrors are folded in which on that model of Juke implies they're locked.

My best guess would be that someone broke down, maybe put up bonnet to look at the engine, and then went off to get help.

Only to find they were blocked from getting back to the car as the bomb squad used their robot to blow the boot open, And then someone very brave went checked that the boot was clear, chucking the unburnt car mats and sack of malt on the ground and smashed the window to open the doors and maybe open the bonnet too.

 

[renegademaster]

If the bonnet was left open, mabye it broke down and the owner wandered off to find a Halfords or something

 

[D1537]

chucking the unburnt car mats and sack of malt on the ground

It's a sack of Hom Mali jasmine rice, very popular with Thai restaurants.

 

[Adam Williams]

If the bonnet was left open, mabye it broke down and the owner wandered off to find a Halfords or something

Wouldn't surprise me if something like this had happened.

Obviously not a sensible place to abandon it, calling recovery and staying with the vehicle would've been a better bet...

Equally, it seems a bit naff that the best way we have of responding to these threats is just to blow them up in a controlled way. I had imagined the robot would be equipped with much more interesting high-tech things to clear the vehicle/respond to suspicious items - films and media make the idea of defusals seem much more practical and intricate ("cut the green wire, then the blue wire") than they seem to be in reality!

 

[styles]

Wouldn't surprise me if something like this had happened.

Obviously not a sensible place to abandon it, calling recovery and staying with the vehicle would've been a better bet...

Equally, it seems a bit naff that the best way we have of responding to these threats is just to blow them up in a controlled way. I had imagined the robot would be equipped with much more interesting high-tech things to clear the vehicle/respond to suspicious items - films and media make the idea of defusals seem much more practical and intricate ("cut the green wire, then the blue wire") than they seem to be in reality!

I think the risk with trying to disarm an explosive device is that you have to be pretty confident it's not going to be blown up in the process by remote triggers, dead man's switches, etc. Also presumably if you suspect a car contains an explosive but you can't actually see the device, you haven't got a chance of disarming it!

It's the kind of thing you might consider for a device strapped to a person in order to preserve their life. In many other circumstances, easier to just destroy it.

I do wonder how a compensation claim for the owner would go in such a scenario. I assume most car insurance providers will have get-out clauses for this, and presume also the police wouldn't be liable providing they were acting on credible intelligence?

 

[AlterEgo]

Treated as non suspicious now apparently.

But it's an interesting thought. Was the vehicle parked there by an idiot, or by somebody testing the Met's response to a potential bomb situation? I wouldn't rule out either.

With the bonnet open it seems most likely it broke down and was abandoned, though it is irresponsible to fail to inform the police if you do this *there*.

 

[styles]

With the bonnet open it seems most likely it broke down and was abandoned, though it is irresponsible to fail to inform the police if you do this *there*.

Yes, see my comment regarding being parked there by an idiot if so!

You'd let somebody know for sure.

 

[Gloster]

Does the Juke actually have a bonnet support and is it top- or bottom-hinged. Could the bonnet have been blown upwards and a top-hinged support dropped down? It seems a bit odd to lock the car, as others have said it was, but leave the bonnet open.

I don’t know how long it took for the security services to be alerted, arrive and roll out their toys, but was it really longer than it would take to get to the main station and find someone from security? However, my feeling is that it is a complete lack of common sense and somebody may have gone off to buy some petrol, find their mate, etc.

 

[styles]

Does the Juke actually have a bonnet support and is it top- or bottom-hinged. Could the bonnet have been blown upwards and a top-hinged support dropped down? It seems a bit odd to lock the car, as others have said it was, but leave the bonnet open.

I don’t know how long it took for the security services to be alerted, arrive and roll out their toys, but was it really longer than it would take to get to the main station and find someone from security? However, my feeling is that it is a complete lack of common sense and somebody may have gone off to buy some petrol, find their mate, etc.

The stay rod on Jukes are attached horizontally in the engine bay, then lifted and hooked under the bonnet hood to prop them open.

It's plausible that an explosion could release the safety catch (under the steering wheel) and maybe even blow the catch open, but certainly not conveniently prop the bonnet hood open with the stay rod having been stored flat

 

[Acathater]

The stay rod on Jukes are attached horizontally in the engine bay, then lifted and hooked under the bonnet hood to prop them open.

It's plausible that an explosion could release the safety catch (under the steering wheel) and maybe even blow the catch open, but certainly not conveniently prop the bonnet hood open with the stay rod having been stored flat

But with the drivers window knocked out can the manual release catch be reached?

 

[edwin_m]

Interesting that the car still appears to be locked (door mirror folded) but the bonnet is open. No sign of debris in front of the car so wonder if it was opened by the robot or manual intervention?

Because they have blown the car up using the robot.

They didn't even blow the bl**dy doors off.

 

[styles]

But with the drivers window knocked out can the manual release catch be reached?

Yes.

 

[Cowley]

I think this one’s been answered, but there’s a separate thread below to discuss the wider issues that were being raised.

How vulnerable is the UK to hybrid attacks?

mods note - split from this thread. https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/disruption-at-st-pancras-possible-bomb-threat-18-08-26.306095/ More hybrid warfare against us? Very easy to execute, no harm, lots of disruption

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