Muslim woman missing in attacks

Shahara Islam: Family prayers at mosque

A Muslim family searching for a daughter missing since the London terrorist attacks have appealed for help in tracking her down.

Nobody has heard from Shahara Akhter Islam since Thursday morning - and family members believe she may have been on one of the trains attacked.

Shahara, 20, is a British Bangladeshi woman and was on her way to work when the attacks happened.

Her uncle, a doctor, has been making exhaustive calls throughout the NHS.

Family describe Shahara as an outgoing woman who makes friends easily. She left her Plaistow home at around 8.30am on Thursday to make her way to work at the Co-operative Bank in Islington, north London.

Shahara is described as slim and about 5ft 5ins tall. She was wearing black trousers and a white top and carrying a Burberry bag. The family said it would be totally out of character for her to disappear without warning.

One of her uncles says he received a "missed call" from Shahara's mobile on his own phone at 9.45am, but he did not know whether this had been an attempt to make contact, or an accidental call. The Liverpool Street/Aldgate bomb detonated on a Circle line train at around 8.51am.

Father's appeal

Shamsul Hasan, Shahara's father, made an appeal for information at East London Mosque on Friday, a few hundred yards from the scene of the Aldgate/Liverpool Street attack. The family had gathered with thousands of others at the mosque to pray for those caught in the attack.

MISSING RELATIVES Anthony has not contacted a single one of his friends and relatives since Thursday morning and his mobile phone is constantly on voicemail Amrit Walia, friend of missing man Search for missing loved-ones

"My prayers go to every other family and I hope that they too pray for my daughter."

Asked what he thought of those who had committed the attacks, he said: "These people are not human beings, they are not doing anything for Islam. They may call themselves Muslim but there is no such thing as a Muslim killing people."

His brother and Shahara's uncle, Kamrul Hasan, said the family now feared the worst.

"She was five to ten minutes away from work and I believe she was on the Tube that got blasted between Aldgate and Liverpool Street," said Dr Hasan.

"She carries two mobile phones with her and there was no reply from either of them throughout the day. She never reached work and obviously her work colleagues are very concerned.

"I'm a medical doctor myself and spent the whole day, 10 hours on the phone to all the intensive care units in London trying to track her down.

"She's not on any of the admissions lists in London, not in any of the intensive care units in London, either as an identified or unidentified patient. All the signs are that she is trapped somewhere in the tunnel. It's increasingly likely that we will get bad news."

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