173 people have been killed in a disaster at Bethnal Green Tube Station, London. Packed crowds were descending stairs during an air-raid last night when a woman carrying a baby tripped, causing a cascade in the blackout. Most victims were crushed or asphyxiated by mass of bodies. 
Panicked by noise of British anti-aircraft guns being tested in nearby Victoria Park, crowds piled into Bethnal Green tube, forcing 300 bodies into small dark stairwell. Most of the dead are women & children: worst single civilian loss of life during the Blitz.
Dr. Joan Martin treats victims from Bethnal Green: "The first wet, mauve, body was carried into the hospital. Wet, because when they pulled the bodies from the shelter all they did was to dump them on the pavement & throw water on them. Mauve, because they were all asphyxiated."
Dr. Martin has been ordered to complete silence, as British government censors news of the disaster, for fear of inspiring German attacks- or embarrassment at admitting the death toll. More: bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan…
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