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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Andrew Griffin

Andreea Cristea: Woman named who fell into the Thames off Westminster bridge during London terror attack

The woman who plunged into the Thames during the terror attack in Westminster has been named, according to Romanian media.

Andreea Cristea, a 29-year-old Romanian architect, was spotted in the river soon after the attack. It isn't clear whether she leapt into the water to escape the violence or if she was thrown from the bridge as part of it.

Ms Cristea was in London to celebrate her boyfriend's birthday, according to reports.

Romanian Ambassador Dan Mihalache told Realitatea TV late Wednesday 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 get married.

Port officials said that they had pulled a woman from the water, injured but alive, soon after the attack was over. She was treated for serious injuries, the Port of London Authority said.

"A female member of the public was pulled from the water near Westminster Bridge, alive, with serious injuries," a PLA spokesman told Reuters in the aftermath of the attack. "She's undergoing very urgent medical treatment now."

The river was closed to all non-emergency traffic for much of the time after the attack.

A London bus driver who described the panic after the attack said that he was aware someone was in the water soon after a car was driven down Westminster Bridge. "Once I got everyone off the bus I heard someone shouting that his wife had jumped into the river to avoid getting knocked over," Michael Adamou told The Independent.

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