NZ woman feared dead in London blast

A young Kiwi woman is among more than 25 people still missing and presumed dead in the aftermath of the London bombings.

The woman's parents last night flew to Britain in search of their daughter, as the death toll continued to climb above 50.

There were tearful scenes at Auckland Airport as they left the country on a direct Air New Zealand flight to London, as a small group of distraught supporters hugged each other and cried.

The woman is believed to be in her 20s and working in London. It is understood she has an Irish passport but has dual citizenship.

She is thought to have been on a train on the Piccadilly Line when the second bomb went off, more than 30m below ground.

She would have been only a few hundred metres from the stop nearest her work, Russell Square - but she never arrived there.

Already, 21 people have been confirmed dead in that explosion, with emergency services still digging through rubble to reach more bodies.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff spoke to the woman's parents - who are believed to live in Auckland - yesterday, and said officials were doing everything they could to help.

"We are very deeply concerned," he said. "The family haven't heard from her since ... I've got a young daughter myself so I can imagine the difficulties they're in."

Late last night, new high commissioner Jonathan Hunt said he and his staff would be doing everything they could to support the woman's parents, and other New Zealanders affected by the blasts, such as former Aucklander John Steadman, who has been searching for his missing brother-in-law Philip Russell, also feared dead.

Mr Hunt will join the Queen at tomorrow's church service to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, which will take on an added significance after last week's events.

In a special Herald on Sunday column, Prime Minister Helen Clark says the attacks sent "shock waves of revulsion and sadness" through New Zealand.

"I can reassure the public that we are taking every reasonable step to protect New Zealand from such an attack," she said.

At least three Islamist groups have claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Police have made no arrests but officials have gradually released more details about the bombings, saying each of the bombs was believed to have contained up to 4.5kg of explosives and could have been carried around in backpacks.

They are believed to be seeking further information on radical Moroccan cleric Mohammed al-Garbuzi, who lived in Britain for 16 years before vanishing last year, and Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, a Syrian al Qaeda veteran believed to have masterminded the Madrid bombings.

US officials forced a flight from Paris to Chicago with 291 passengers on board to return to France late yesterday while it checked the list of passengers, without giving a reason.

Flowers, notes and appeals for information about missing relatives were piled outside King's Cross station, where bodies were still trapped deep underground.

A leading forensic scientist said it could takes months or even longer to identify all the people killed.

London's creaking transport network slowly resumed service, although parts of the underground rail network, which carries three million people a day, will be disrupted for weeks.

Theatres have reopened, but restaurant and bar owners said business was unusually quiet.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY