23:46

A Romanian tourist who was in London to celebrate her boyfriend’s birthday was pulled from the river by a passenger boat after falling into the Thames during the attack.

Andreea Cristea, a 29-year-old architect, was knocked into the Thames as Khalid Masood drove towards Parliament Square.

She was plucked to safety when the crew on a passing boat saw her floating downstream. Staff on the Milennium Diamond used a boat hook to grab her clothing. She was then picked up by a rescue boat and treated by paramedics.

Andreea Cristea. Photograph: Facebook

Kyle Haughton, managing director at the firm, said: “City Cruises’ Millennium Diamond was in the area of the incident at the time and worked alongside London’s emergency services to support in the rescue efforts of a woman in the water.

“Once alerted by people on the bridge, the ship’s captain reacted fast on spotting her. He halted the boat in order to hold her out of the water and stop her from being carried any further by the current. The emergency services were called immediately and arrived within minutes to take over the rescue operation.”

Her partner, Andrei Burnaz, suffered minor injuries. Dan Mihalache, Romania’s ambassador to the UK, told Romanian media that Cristea sustained serious head injuries and had badly damaged lungs.



Mihalache said: “They were tourists. Unfortunately they were unlucky. They had come to celebrate his birthday.”