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A 90-year-old man has died after a gust of wind dashed him against the side of a bus near Finchley Central station in north London.

Medics battled to save him after he was hit by the 143 bus in Chaville Way but he was pronounced dead 45 minutes later.

Pictures from the scene show Regents Park Road cordoned off with police cars and ambulances around the junction.

A Met Police spokeswoman said: “Police were called by London Ambulance Service at 12.35pm to reports of a traffic incident in Chaville Way, N3.

“At the scene, a male pedestrian had been in collision with the side of a moving bus.

“Medics at the scene performed CPR but the man died at the scene at 1.15pm.

“Officers believe they know the identity of the deceased and next of kin have been informed.

“Formal identification and a post-mortem examination will take place in due course.

“At this early stage, officers believe the man was caught by a gust of wind and blown off the pavement against the side of a moving bus.”

The bus driver was not arrested.

@standardramzy no. Looked like a bus knocked someone down. Didn't look good. Paramedic pushing down on someone's chest. — Gooner 1907 (@taner1907uk) December 5, 2015

The capital is being battered by strong gusts as Storm Desmond ravishes parts of northern England, as well as other parts of the UK.

Flights are grounded at Dublin Airport while floods and landslips in Scotland have blocked roads.

Passers-by took to Twitter as news of the tragedy in Finchley broke.

Marcel Cowan ‏(@marcelcowan) wrote: “What’s happening at #finchleycentral?

“Loads of police and ambulances and high road cordoned off...”

Min ‏(@minutekyookim) added: “Seems like a major accident, hope everything’s ok!”

In a tweet, Transport for London said routes 82, 125, 143, 460, 326 and 382 had been re-routed to avoid the area.

The 143 is operated by Metroline. The man is the 13th person to die on the capital's streets in 2015 following an incident involving a London bus.