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.
Crowds gathered in the tens of thousands near Trafalgar Square just two days ago for the Trooping the Colour parade that marked the Queen’s birthday and kicked off the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The square 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.”
What made police suspicious of the vehicle is not yet clear.
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The police officer told crews on the ground that 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 the 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 at “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 hold and secure positioning, according to Global News crews on the ground outside the building.
“Our utmost concern is always for the safety and security of our staff and personnel, whether at home or abroad,” said a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada.
“Our staff at the Canadian High Commission in London are safe and accounted for.”
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.
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