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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Jackyd101 (talk | contribs) at 14:09, 26 January 2007 (moved 9 February 1996 South Quay bombing (Docklands Bombing) to 1996 South Quay bombing: Title was far too unwieldy, shortened and added redirects). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

On February 9, 1996, at about 19:01, the IRA detonated a half-tonne bomb in a small lorry about 80 yards from South Quay Station on the Docklands Light Railway (in the Canary Wharf area of London), directly under the point where the tracks cross Marsh Wall. Due to a telephoned warning, nearby buildings and the road were evacuated. However, two men working in the newsagents shop directly opposite the explosion, Inam Bashir and John Jeffries, had not been evacuated in time and were killed. 39 people required hospital treatment due to blast injuries and falling glass.

Approximately £85 million worth of damage was done by the blast. Three nearby buildings (the Midland Bank building, South Quay Plaza I and II) were severely damaged (the latter two requiring complete rebuilding whilst the former was beyond economic repair and was demolished). The station itself was extensively damaged, but both it and the bridge under which the bomb was exploded were reopened within weeks (on 22 April), the latter requiring only cosmetic repairs despite its proximity to the blast.

This bomb represented the end to the IRA cease-fire during the Northern Ireland peace process at the time. A man named James McArdle was convicted of the bombing, and sentenced to 25 years in prison, but was released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in June 2000.

Sir Paul Condon described the attack as "a failure of humanity".

External Links

• BBC Report on the bombing
• Memories of the Docklands bomb by the BBC
• IRA Bomb Shatters the Peace by the Canadian encyclopedia
• Breakdown of Provisional IRA Cease-fire by the BBC

• Terrorism in the United Kingdom
• Terrorism in London
• Terrorist incidents in the 1990s
• 1996 in England