Shock and grief in Madrid
The blasts hit during the morning rush hour
A mood of shock and grief descended on Madrid after the morning rush-hour blasts which left scores dead.
In the aftermath of Spain’s worst terror attack, weeping commuters streamed away from stations as emergency services rushed in to treat the hundreds of injured and dying.
Hospitals appealed for blood as up to 600 casualties, some with horrific blast injuries and lost limbs, were ferried in. Residents responded in droves, queuing up to donate.
I won’t forget this ever. I’ve seen horror."
Ambulance driver Enrique Sanchez
The scale of moving the casualties to hospital overwhelmed the system.
Buses became makeshift ambulances, but even ambulance drivers were traumatised by what they saw.
“I won’t forget this ever,” said ambulance driver Enrique Sanchez. “I’ve seen horror.”
Phones jammed
Mobile phone networks became jammed as thousands of commuters caught up in the blast or the chaos which followed tried to ring loved ones.
In one hospital, a doctor answered the mobile phone of a critically injured woman to find it was the patient’s, desperately trying to trace her.
Hotels offered free rooms to people caught up in the tragedy, as the sheer scale of the attack paralysed much of the city’s transport system.
It is the worst day for any democracy in Europe since World War II.
Spanish journalist Inigo Amescua
The attack left citizens stunned.
A country used to living with a permanent threat of Eta or even al Qaeda attack had never expected carnage on this scale.
“This is incredible, a whole city brought to collapse by the explosions,” Spanish journalist Inigo Amescua told BBC News Online.
“It is the worst day for any democracy in Europe since World War II.”
An eerie calm descended on the city as residents crowded round television sets in cafes, or stayed glued to the coverage at home.
Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, in a televised address to the nation, praised the solidarity of Spaniards in the aftermath of the attack.
The blasts came amid final preparations for Spain’s general election, due on Sunday.
Shocked leaders suspended campaigning and expressed their horror at the multiple attacks, which they saw as linked to the poll.
"This was a massive, indiscriminate attack on people going to work,"said Mariano Rajoy, leader of the governing Popular Party and currently expected to succeed outgoing Jose Maria Aznar as prime minister.
"Eta is a criminal organisation with no respect for life. It has thrown Spanish democracy into mourning.
Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero condemned the attacks and Eta.
“I hope that these scum, these criminals, fall as swiftly as possible into the hands of the police… so we can put an end to Eta, this violence, this barbarism,” he said.
The head of Madrid’s regional government, Esperanza Aguirre, said: "The killers have carried out a most terrible and criminal act, producing a massacre on an unprecedented scale.
“Democracy will prevail over the imposition of terror.”
This is very, very sad 
I’m at school right now and I’ve only just noticed this on a newssite. The orginial link can be found at:
