Hungarians caught in London blasts Main page

FOLLOWING the terrorist attacks in London last Thursday (July 7), where 52 people were killed and 700 injured in four explosions on the underground network and on a bus, the Hungarian Embassy in London is still trying to locate a missing person. The family of a woman in her 20s has repeatedly tried to contact her by phone but she has not answered. However a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said people were reported "missing" all the time, and it may not be connected with the bombings.

After the bomb blasts 31 Hungarian citizens were thought to be missing but by Saturday evening the last six had been found or had reported themselves safe, with authorities saying none of those had been involved in the tragedy.

However, on Sunday (July 10) the Hungarian Embassy said it had received a call from a Hungarian family who were still trying to contact their daughter who lives in London.

By 3pm on July 7, the Crisis Center at the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) had received around 300 calls from Hungarians, primarily relatives inquiring about family members, whom they had been unable to reach because of congestion on the London mobile network. So far it has been established that two Hungarians were caught in the blasts and suffered minor injuries.

Hungarian Ambassador to London Béla Szombati told press on Friday (July 8) that British authorities report immediately to the relevant embassy if a foreign citizen is found among victims or the injured, and that no such alert had been received by the Hungarian Embassy to date. On the same day, Hungarian daily Népszabadság, quoting an unnamed source within the Hungarian secret service, said that communication between Hungarian and British national security organizations has "significantly intensified" following the London attacks.
The paper said information was being "immediately shared" between the two countries.

Friday also saw a series of bomb threats at three shopping centers in Budapest, though officials said these were not connected to the London attacks. State secretary András Tóth, speaking on the Nap-kelte television program, said that when the bomb threats had been made, news of the London bombings had not yet reached Hungary.

He added that the Hungarian secret services had taken "appropriate measures" following the London blasts but that they were "not aware" of any terrorist activities in Hungary.

The Mammut shopping center in District II, the WestEnd shopping mall next to Nyugati train station and the Árkád shopping center in District X were all evacuated and security checks made.

On the day of the terrorist attacks Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány called the interior minister, the police chief and the state secretary of the civilian state security services for a meeting.

Gyurcsány told press, "No form of aggression is acceptable, nor is any enforcement of one's will outside democratic institutions. We cannot accept that defenseless people, adults and children, in London or in any other part of the world should suffer from ... the terror of a few."