It all started off as a normal day! Working for The Associated Press, I had covered the jubilation of London winning the Olympic 2012 bid the previous day and London was a triumphant and proud city. The following day, Thursday, July 7, 2005, was supposed to be quiet and I had an early job covering a photo-call not too far from Edgware Road tube station. During the session, I received a telephone call from my picture editor at AP instructing me to head over to Edgware Road.

Paul Dadge, right, escorts injured tube passenger, Davinia Turrell, away from Edgware Road station. AP Photo/Jane Mingay

There was no confirmation of what had occurred that morning in London and it was thought to be just a power failure that had evacuated several tube stations in London. Upon arrival at Edgware Road tube station, all I could see were police and emergency services sealing off the area and the scene was chaotic and unfathomable.

I photographed everything that I saw. After a while the police moved all the media that had made it into the area to the side and kept the road clear between the tube station and a hotel across the road. A few moments later, injured passengers started to walk across the road from a shop where they had been sheltering next to the tube station. They entered the hotel where they were treated by medical services.

Helen Quadling walks away from Edgware Road station. AP Photo/Jane Mingay

Many had soot on their faces and ripped clothes. They all looked extremely shocked and some looked traumatized and were crying. An injured lady in the protective burn mask was helped across the road by another passenger who put his arm around her and guided her while she held the mask to her face. When I saw the lady in the mask I was extremely shocked and I realized fully the gravity of the situation. She walked across the road and there seemed to be an utter silence of empathy and emotion all around.

It was later that day that we knew that the cause had been terrorist attacks. After covering Edgware Road, I went to Euston and photographed the scene around Tavistock Square where a suicide bomber had blown up a bus. Later I covered commuters walking home as the whole tube network was closed for the day.

It was a tragic day for London and when I got home late that day and watched the news reports on the television all the pieces of the day fell vividly into place.

A view of the remnants of a bus that exploded in Tavistock Square, in central London, England, on Thursday, July 7, 2005. AP Photo/ Jane Mingay