Rescuers save woman from river who was in path of maniac’s car

A WOMAN was pulled alive from the River Thames after falling from Westminster Bridge during the attack.

Horrified witnesses told how they saw a body face down in the water surrounded by blood.

It is not known if the woman was thrown into the water on impact or jumped to avoid the attacker’s car.

A spokesman for the Port of London Authority said that the woman was rescued from the water and rushed to a nearby pier for urgent medical treatment.

Last night she was said to have serious injuries.

Police said they received multiple reports of someone in the water and the RNLI confirmed it was scrambled to assist with the recovery. Witnesses told of the horror on the bridge as the car careered along the pavement towards Parliament.

Stephen Voake, 56, from Wells, Somerset, said: “I was crossing the bridge and began to hear screaming.

“Then I saw a trainer shoe in the road and then a body on the other side of the road.

“When I looked over the side there was another body lying in the water with blood all around it.”

Michael Adamou, 25, was driving a 453 bus when he saw a grey Hyundai 4x4 speeding in the direction of Parliament. Mr Adamou, from central London, said: “When I was getting everybody off the bus – because they made us leave the bus on the bridge – I heard one guy come running behind me shouting his wife had jumped into the river to avoid getting knocked down.”

Former Sky News presenter Eamonn Holmes tweeted: “Amazingly a woman has been pulled alive from the Thames after being hit by the 4x4 on Westminster Bridge”.

In a brief statement, the RNLI said: “The lifeboat, which is based on the Thames in central London, was requested to launch by HM Coastguard at 14.45pm and again at 15.55pm.”

The river was closed off to all boats between Vauxhall and Embankment.