'I Thought I Was Going To Die,' London Bombing Survivor Says 10 Years Later

Sajda Mughal, 33, was on the Underground that morning when a bomb exploded.

ByABC News
July 7, 2015, 7:26 PM

— -- Ten years ago, 52 people were killed and more than 700 injured in multiple terrorism attacks across London.

Sajda Mughal, 33, was on the Underground that morning when a bomb exploded in the front car. She survived, unhurt. But the memories of that day remain painful.

"I started thinking about my loved ones, thinking I hadn't said goodbye, that I hadn't gotten married and hadn't had kids. I was getting ready for death, but I was hoping this wouldn't be the end," Mughal said.

After 45 minutes in the darkness, emergency services rescued Mughal along with hundreds of others. Twenty-six people were killed and 340 were injured on her train.

Around the same time, bombs exploded on two other London Transport trains, killing eight and injuring 171 in one, killing seven and injuring 163 in the other. Nearly an hour later, a bomb exploded in a bus in central London, killing 14 people and injuring more than 110.

Today, commemorative events were held at St Paul's Cathedral in London and at a dedicated memorial in Hyde Park to remember the victims.

Mughal says her experience have changed her life. After several months of counselling she had gone back to her old job, but quickly realized that she was haunted by unanswered questions.

"I wanted to know who had brainwashed these four men, with a wrong ideology, and why," said Mughal, who is Muslim. "I couldn't accept that they had done this because I know that in the Koran it says that killing an innocent person is like killing humanity."

Since 7/7, Mughal has dedicated her time working for her non-profit organization, Jan Trust, which helps and educate Muslim mothers who are worried that their sons are being radicalized. She was awarded with the prestigious Order of the British Empire in 2015, a royal recognition to "distinguished service to the arts and sciences, public services outside the Civil Service."