People were seen streaming out of a London underground station covered with blood on Thursday following what police described as a "major incident."

Similar scenes were reported by witnesses outside other stations in the capital. The whole of the system was shut down and major thoroughfares were closed.

The cause of the incident, which occurred at rush-hour on the underground network, was as yet unknown.

"There have been some casualties and this has been declared as a major incident," said a spokeswoman for London's Metropolitan Police.

Emergency services rushed to the Aldgate East underground station where police reported one incident at 8:59 AM local time (07:59 GMT).

Witnesses said passengers were seen emerging from the station at Aldgate East with blood on their faces and their clothes ripped.

"There were people streaming out of Algate station covered in blood," said Kate Heywood, 27, on her way to work. A Reuters correspondent at Oxford Circus station, at the heart of the underground system, heard an announcement over the public-address system saying: "A power outage has occurred London-wide. All train services are suspended."

A station official said: "All the power has gone down. I don't know when it'll come back."

(Chinadaily.com via agencies July 7, 2005)