London attack: Woman pulled alive from River Thames after jumping from bridge
A WOMAN who plunged into the River Thames when a man drove into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge was a Romanian tourist in London to celebrate her boyfriend’s birthday.
ROMANIAN officials say a woman who plunged into the River Thames when a man drove into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge was a Romanian tourist in London to celebrate her boyfriend’s birthday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ionut Valcu said Thursday that the woman fell into the Thames. It wasn’t clear if she jumped or was thrown into the water by the car.
Romanian Ambassador Dan Mihalache told Realitatea TV that the woman sustained serious head injuries and has badly damaged lungs.
Her boyfriend suffered a foot fracture. The pair haven’t been named.
Mihalache said: “They were tourists, unfortunately they were unlucky. They had come to celebrate his birthday.”
He said the pair planned to wed.
As extraordinary stories of survivors emerge from the London terror attack, it’s understood the woman was forced into the river when the chaos unfolded.
While most pedestrians on the bridge fled for their lives as a car driven by the alleged attacker ploughed into crowds, chilling footage has emerged showing the woman plunging into the icy waters.
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It’s not yet known for certain if she was thrown off the bridge on impact of the crash, or whether she jumped of her own accord to avoid the carnage.
However, a Port of London Authority spokesman told the Standard it was believed she had fallen during the attack.
It’s understood she was rescued just before 3pm London time.
According to the Standard, the spokesman said: “A female member of the public was recovered from the water near Westminster Bridge.”
“She is alive but undergoing urgent medical treatment on a nearby pier,” the Standard reported the spokesman as saying.
“We believe she fell from the bridge.”
The Telegraph reported a local, Steve Voake, had been walking across the South Bank when he saw a body lying in the water “with blood all around it”.
“I saw a trainer lying in the road and when I looked more closely I saw that there were a couple of bodies the other side of the road,” he told the Telegraph.
“And when I looked over the side there was another body lying in the water with blood all around it.”
Another witness told The Sun: “There was a woman at the top of the steps, her head was just pulsing with blood and bleeding out and there was another woman who flipped over the side of the bridge. Someone landed in the river somewhere.”
Michael Amadou told The Guardian he was driving a bus across Westminster Bridge when the incident happened. He described how the attacker, who was driving a grey 4x4 Hyundai, had “started from the hospital heading towards parliament and just mowed down whoever was in his way”.
He added: “I heard one guy come running behind me shouting his wife had jumped into the river to avoid getting knocked down.”
The river has been closed from Vauxhall to Embankment as part of the security response.
Originally published as London attack: Woman pulled alive from River Thames after jumping from bridge