Murder on the Tube

A teenager has been stabbed to death at a Tube station by a gang wielding a broken bottle, a snooker cue and a piece of metal sharpened to form a blade.

A London Underground driver tried to stem the bleeding when the 18-year-old collapsed on the platform at Hounslow West.

The stabbing happened at about 11.15pm last night after a fight broke out on the westbound platform involving a group of up to 10 youths, believed to be Somalians.

The victim was attacked as he waited to board a train with two of his friends, said witness Umesh Pasricha.

IT worker Mr Pasricha said he saw the victim "gasping for air" as he slumped onto the platform in a pool of his blood while shocked passengers looked on.

"It happened just after a train had pulled into the station," said Mr Pasricha, 23.

"As I got there the driver of the train had jumped out, taken his shirt off and placed it over the victim's wounds to stop the bleeding. Lying beside them was a piece of metal sharpened to form a knife edge, a brokenoff snooker cue and some shattered glass.

"There was blood on the end of the cue - they had stabbed him three times using great force.

"He was going very pale and screaming in shock and pain. He was gasping for air. Passengers on the train were looking on in complete shock and silence."

Mr Pasricha said he had seen a group of youths hanging around outside the station minutes before, one of whom broke a bottle on the outside gates and carried it in.

He said a car with some more youths then pulled up and the gang - now up to 10 strong - all ran inside.

As Mr Pasricha went to report what he had seen at a ticket kiosk, a passenger approached saying someone had been stabbed on the platform. "It all happened within about three minutes," added Mr Pasricha.

"The victim had two friends who were in sheer shock, and the driver was trying heroically to give him first-aid.

"I went to call for an ambulance but, by the time I came back, the victim was not breathing and was motionless. My heart goes out to his family."

Two men were arrested nearby and are being held at a west London police station.

The Tube station stayed closed today as police examination of the crime scene continued. A section of nearby Beaversfield Park also remained cordoned off.

The Piccadilly line service was suspended all morning between Hounslow West and Heathrow. The airport itself faced disruption because staff who normally use the Tube could not get to work on time.

LU had to terminate Piccadilly line services at Hounslow Central, and there were no trains to Hatton Cross, Terminal 4 or Terminals 1, 2 and 3. While Tube chiefs ran a replacement coach service to the airport, the few coaches they could get hold of at short notice lacked sufficient luggage capacity.

Tube services to the airport resumed at 12.30pm, but were not initially stopping at Hounslow West because of the continuing forensic science investigation there.

There has been increasing concern in recent months about gangs hanging around stations in the area late at night.

Local residents said that the area has been blighted with the problem for a year.

Jag Khosa, 24, a newsagent, said: "I have had to call the police before after a gang started fighting between themselves outside my house.

"There were up to 14 of them, all Somalian and aged between 16 and 18.

"You see them around on Friday and Saturday nights - and they are renowned in the area for causing trouble."