The taxi driver, which exploded in front of a hospital in Liverpool (northern UK) on Sunday, was hailed as a "hero" who avoided a "disaster" during this incident investigated by the anti-terrorism police.
The passenger locked up by the driver
Injured in the explosion, the taxi driver was called a "hero" by politicians and tabloids who said he had saved the lives of people. “This is an ongoing investigation, so I cannot comment on the details or say exactly what type of incident it is (...) but it appears that the taxi driver in question is behaved with incredible presence of mind and bravery, ”Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday during a visit to a London medical center.
According to
The Daily Mail
, the driver spotted that his passenger looked "suspicious" and locked him in the taxi, before escaping.
He was injured in the explosion and the passenger, who was not formally identified, died, police said.
"The taxi driver, in his heroic efforts, managed to avert what could have been an absolutely horrific disaster at the hospital," Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson said on the BBC Monday, confirming he had “Locked the doors” of the vehicle.
"It reminds us that the threat of terrorism has not gone away," Conservative Party Chairman Oliver Dowden told SkyNews on Monday morning.
"Terrible incident"
Referring to the actions of the taxi driver reported by the press, Oliver Dowden pointed out "the contrast between the cowardice of the terrorist attack and the bravery of ordinary Britons across the country, who put the lives of others before theirs". "It is clear that we have to see exactly what happened, but if so, it is yet another example of true bravery and courage," he added. The counterterrorism police are in charge of the investigation with, according to the BBC, the support of the intelligence service MI5.
The local police explained that they were alerted around 11 a.m. and immediately intervened. "Until now, we understand that the car involved was a taxi that stopped at the hospital shortly before the explosion," police said Sunday afternoon, indicating that "work is still in progress. course to establish what happened ”. A “large cordon” of police remained in place Monday morning on Rutland Avenue in Liverpool and “a small number of homes have been evacuated as a precaution” as part of the ongoing investigation, Greater Manchester police said.
Boris Johnson had conveyed his thoughts on Sunday evening "to all those affected by the terrible incident in Liverpool".
Images posted on local media websites showed large gray smoke billowing from the scene of the incident and a charred vehicle.
Four men arrested
Phil Garrigan, the Merseyside fire chief, said the vehicle fire was "fully developed" when emergency vehicles arrived.
"The operational teams extinguished the fire quickly, but as the police chief indicated, there was one death," he told reporters on the spot.
"Another individual had left the vehicle before the fire developed," he said.
The police urged the population to "remain calm but vigilant".
As part of the investigation, four men - aged 29, 26, 20 and 21 - were arrested in the Kensington area of Liverpool under the Terrorism Act, police said on Sunday evening.
The explosion, which left one dead and one injured, came on Sunday morning as the UK commemorated the victims of war on 'Remembrance Sunday'.
It occurred just before 11 a.m. (local and GMT) when the nation was silently praying, and a few hundred yards from Liverpool Cathedral where hundreds of soldiers, veterans and members of the public were gathered to a tribute.
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Driver
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