Terror attack hits the UK again: 6 dead, approx 50 injured

Six people have been killed and almost 50 people injured in a “rampage” in central London, the third terrorist attack to hit the UK in less than three months.

Three attackers were shot dead by police in the attack on London Bridge and Borough Market. Police said they believed there were no more than three attackers.

A white transit van ploughed into a crowd of people on the bridge at speed shortly after 10pm. The three men then stabbed people with 12-inch knives at nearby Borough Market, with a transport police officer among those injured.

The London Ambulance Service said 48 people had been taken to five hospitals across the capital and a number of other people were treated at the scene.

Conservatives have suspended their national campaigning for the General Election in the wake of the London Bridge terror attack.

A senior party spokesman said national events were being suspended on Sunday and a decision on further campaigning would be taken later in the day.

As dawn broke over the capital, a large area on the south bank of the River Thames remained cordoned off and police told people to avoid the area, leaving tourists and revellers struggling to get home.

“A white van driver came speeding – probably about 50mph – veered of the road into the crowds of people who were walking along the pavement,” she told BBC News. People were thrown 20 feet into the air. One person reportedly jumped into the river to evade the attackers.

Within minutes there were reports of a second incident at Borough Market on the south bank of the Thames. One cab driver said three men ran towards the market stabbing people – including a young girl – as they ran.

An eyewitness on London Bridge, told the BBC he saw three men stabbing people indiscriminately, shouting “this is for Allah” in a “rampage”.

Police entered bars and restaurants in the Southwark area around 11pm and told customers to get down on the floor amid reports that the incident was still ongoing. People outdoors were told by yelling police officers to run from the area as the atmosphere turned to one of “hysteria”.

Shortly before midnight police said they were attending a third incident in the Vauxhall area, but later said it was not connected.

Prime Minister Theresa May, who was understood to be at her Maidenhead constituency when she was alerted to the news, will chair a Cobra meeting first thing on Sunday morning.

The attack comes less than a fortnight after the Manchester suicide bombing and just three months after a terrorist ploughed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before stabbing a policeman to death at Parliament.

Source: Telegraph UK