10:07 ‘Was throwing bottles, glasses, stools, but I was defenceless’:
London Bridge and Borough Market have been hit by two coordinated attacks south of the River Thames.
Armed police rushed to the scene and shot dead the three male attackers in the Borough Market area near the bridge, as authorities urged Londoners on Twitter to “run, hide, tell” if they were caught up in the violence.
One eyewitness, named only as Gerard, told the BBC: “I saw a geezer lying on the floor saying he’d been stabbed
“I saw these three Muslim guys run up and started stabbing this girl. They attacked her and stabbed another guy.
“They started running up the road, stabbed the bouncer at the Tavern.
“I was throwing bottles at them, pint glasses, stools, chairs, but I was defenceless.
“They stabbed this girl maybe ten, 15 times. She was saying ‘help me, help me’.”
He claimed he had hit one of the attackers on the back of the head by throwing things at him, and was chased, but escaped unharmed.
Modi returned to India today after completing his four-nation tour to Germany, Spain, Russia and France.
09:23 People are helping out London Bridge victims with #SofaForLondon:
Kind Londoners are offering those caught up in the ‘terror attack’ in London lifts home and rooms for the night.
As details of the attack begin to emerge, #SofaForLondon started trending on Twitter and Facebook.
Some are offering accommodation to those stranded in the city, while others are giving people free taxi rides to their homes and hotels.
Witnesses also reported hotels and restaurants on the southern bank of the Thames giving people shelter and water as they tried to make their way home.
One Twitter user said: #London you cannot break humanity. Taxi drivers offering lifts to safety and hotels and business offering a safe place.
Another shared a similar story: Terrible events in London but with People offering help and free taxi rides Im Proud to be British.
08:59 ‘Praying for London’: Singer Ariana Grande reacts to latest terror attack:
Ariana Grande has reacted to the latest terror attack in London, just two weeks after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at her concert in Manchester.
The twin attacks in the capital came as the US pop star was preparing for Sunday’s charity concert that she had organised to raise funds for those affected by the Manchester Arena attack on May 22.
As details emerged of the latest atrocity, Grande tweeted: “Praying for London.”
The singer has been in Manchester in recent days visiting the injured and families of those killed in the attacks.
She met some of those who lost loved ones at an undisclosed location on Friday.
The British police confirmed that 3 male suspects in the London attacks have been shot dead by them.
Police said they believed there were no more than three attackers.
“Armed response officers then responded very quickly and bravely and confronted the three male suspects who were shot and killed on Borough Market,” Mark Rowley, Britain’s top anti-terrorism officer, said.
In a full statement, Mark Rowley said, “Since late yesterday evening [Saturday, June 3], the Metropolitan Police Service has been responding to incidents in the London Bridge and Borough Market areas of south London. We are treating this as a terrorist incident and a full investigation is already underway, led by the Mets Counter Terrorism Command.
You will understand that our knowledge of the incident is still growing but what we understand at the present time is:
>> At 22.08 yesterday evening we began to receive reports that a vehicle had struck pedestrians on London Bridge.
>> The vehicle continued to drive from London Bridge to Borough Market.
>> The suspects then left the vehicle and a number of people were stabbed, including an on-duty British Transport Police officer who was responding to the incident at London Bridge. He received serious but not life-threatening injuries. His family has been informed.
>> Armed officers responded very quickly and bravely, confronting three male suspects who were shot and killed in Borough Market. The suspects had been confronted and shot by the police within eight minutes of the first call. The suspects were wearing what looked like explosive vests but these were later established to be hoaxes.”
08:28 Trump touts travel ban, pledges support to UK in wake of attacks:
US President Donald Trump touted his so-called travel ban Saturday in the wake of the London terror attacks, while also pledging assistance to Britain.
Without referring explicitly to London, Trump wrote on his personal account: “We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!”
Eight minutes later, he tweeted, “Whatever the United States can do to help out in London and the U. K., we will be there – WE ARE WITH YOU. GOD BLESS!”
Cecillia Wang, the deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, quickly accused Trump of exploiting the situation.
“We need to be outraged when the president exploits a terrible violent crime to push his discriminatory and illegal policy,” she tweeted.
US vice president Mike Pence also tweeted, “Our thoughts & prayers are w/ the victims, courageous first responders & all the people of London. As President Trump said: WE ARE WITH YOU.”
07:58 UPDATE: Multiple casualties after terror attack at London Bridge, nearby market:
At least 20 people were taken to hospitals across London after the terrorist attacks on London Bridge and at Borough Market, London Ambulance Service said in a statement. The injured were taken to six hospitals, while other people were treated at the scene, London Ambulance Service Assistant Director of Operations Peter Rhodes said.
Police in London were dealing with what appeared to be a coordinated terrorist attack on at least two locations late Saturday night, after a van mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge and a knife attack was reported in a cafe nearby.
Eyewitnesses reported panic as the attacks unfolded, in the vicinity of a major transport hub and in an area packed with restaurants and bars.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said authorities were dealing with a “terrible incident” and London’s Metropolitan Police Service said incidents at London Bridge and nearby Borough Market were being treated as terrorism.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said it was “deliberate and cowardly attack” on Londoners enjoying a Saturday night out.
It was the third terrorist attack to strike the United Kingdom this year, after a man drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in March and the bomb attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester two weeks ago.
07:47 1 killed, many hurt as van runs through crowd, stabbings in London: A massive manhunt was underway as Scotland Yard armed officers were dispatched to London Bridge after a van ploughed into pedestrians in a suspected terror attack followed by stabbing incidents in the area.
Several people have been injured with one feared dead as gunfire was also heard in the area, the police said.
“From 2208 hrs (local time) officers responded to reports of a vehicle in collision with pedestrians on #London Bridge. Officers have then responded to reports of stabbings in #BoroughMarket. Armed officers responded and shots have been fired,” the metropolitan police said in a statement on Twitter. “Officers are now responding to an incident in the #Vauxhall area,” the statement added.
There are reports of a number of casualties,
British Transport Police has said. “The Prime Minister is in contact with officials and is being regularly updated on the incident at London Bridge,” Downing Street said.
Transport for London said the bridge has been closed in both directions due to a “major police incident”.
Source: Rediff