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Seven people have been killed and 21 others critically wounded in the terrorist attack at London Bridge and Borough Market.

Three suspects were also shot dead in the horrific attack just after 10pm on Saturday, while two police officers are among the injured.

Assistant Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley revealed the death toll just after 4am on Sunday, as details of the attack began to emerge.

Mr Rowley said police were alerted that a vehicle had run down several pedestrians on London bridge at 10.08pm, before it then drove on to Borough Market.

At least three attackers then got out and began to stab people, including the on-duty British Transport Police officer who was responding to the initial incident on the bridge.

Armed police then confronted and shot the three killers in Borough Market at 10.16pm.

The eight armed officers fired an "unprecedented number of shots" with 50 rounds fired. A member of the public was injured in the gunfire but their condition is not thought to be critical.

Mr Rowley said on Saturday: "At this stage, we believe that six people have died in addition to the three attackers shot dead by police and at least 20 casualties have been taken to six hospitals across London.

"[The BTP officer] received serious but not life-threatening injuries. His family has been informed.

“I'd like to repeat our request for the public to avoid the following areas: London Bridge and Borough Market. This is to allow emergency services to deal with this incident."

The death toll was later raised to seven. An update from police revealed a total of 36 people were in hospital with 21 of those in a critical condition.

The terrorists were wearing what looked like explosive vests but these turned out to be fake, Mr Rowley added.

0800 0961 233 Met Police Casualty Bureau number for anyone concerned about relatives or friends

At about 1.30am up to four controlled explosions carried out by police were heard near to London Bridge Street.

Prime Minister Theresa May, chaired an emergency Cobra meeting on Sunday morning. Last night she said she was being updated by officials on the "fast-moving" situation, adding: "I can confirm that the terrible incident in London is being treated as a potential act of terrorism."

A picture posted on social media from the scene of the attack appears to show a man lying on the ground with canisters strapped to his body.

Witnesses who were enjoying nights out in pubs and bars in the area were warned to barricade themselves indoors, while people on the streets surrounding London Bridge began to run for their lives.

Scotland Yard warned people to avoid the area and London Bridge station will remain closed throughout the night.

Terrifying footage from the scene showed police vehicles surrounding the bridge while officers shout "Clear the scene now!"

Will Heaven, who was in an Uber passing London Bridge minutes after the incident, told Sky News: "It was about 10 past 10. I was in the back of an Uber cab driving south over London Bridge.

"Suddenly on the left hand side on the bridge there was somebody down on the pavement with a small crowd around them, clearly concerned. I thought someone had collapsed.

"We drove a little further over the bridge. There was another person in the road itself. The penny dropped that something quite serious was happening.

"The traffic came to a standstill. The Uber driver said something bad is happening here. We could hear sirens coming.

"A driver of a black cab said there has been a terrorist attack. They saw there were numerous people in the road. A second cab driver said there has been a series of stabbings."

London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack 30 show all London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack 1/30 Police and paramedics treat an injured person Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 2/30 A woman is helped to an ambulance at London Bridge Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 3/30 Armed police at London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 4/30 Emergency personnel tend to wounded on London Bridge Yui Mok/PA Wire 5/30 Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 6/30 Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 7/30 Debris and abandoned cars remain on London Bridge Chris J Ratcliffe/AFP/Getty Images 8/30 People walking down Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 9/30 Armed Police officers on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 10/30 People flee along Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 11/30 Police officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 12/30 Shocked onlookers in Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 13/30 Police sniffer dogs on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 14/30 Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 15/30 People run down Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 16/30 A helicopter lands on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 17/30 An armed officer on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 18/30 Police officers on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 19/30 Emergency personnel on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 20/30 Armed police on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 21/30 Armed Police officer looks through his weapon on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 22/30 People run along Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 23/30 Police at the scene on Southwark Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images 24/30 A paramedic rushes to the scene Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 25/30 An armed officer on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 26/30 A paramedic at the scene Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 27/30 Armed police on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 28/30 Emergency personnel on London Bridge Yui Mok/PA Wire 29/30 Police officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 30/30 People are lead to safety away from London Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images 1/30 Police and paramedics treat an injured person Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 2/30 A woman is helped to an ambulance at London Bridge Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 3/30 Armed police at London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 4/30 Emergency personnel tend to wounded on London Bridge Yui Mok/PA Wire 5/30 Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 6/30 Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 7/30 Debris and abandoned cars remain on London Bridge Chris J Ratcliffe/AFP/Getty Images 8/30 People walking down Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 9/30 Armed Police officers on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 10/30 People flee along Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 11/30 Police officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 12/30 Shocked onlookers in Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 13/30 Police sniffer dogs on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 14/30 Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 15/30 People run down Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 16/30 A helicopter lands on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 17/30 An armed officer on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 18/30 Police officers on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 19/30 Emergency personnel on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 20/30 Armed police on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 21/30 Armed Police officer looks through his weapon on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 22/30 People run along Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 23/30 Police at the scene on Southwark Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images 24/30 A paramedic rushes to the scene Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 25/30 An armed officer on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 26/30 A paramedic at the scene Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 27/30 Armed police on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 28/30 Emergency personnel on London Bridge Yui Mok/PA Wire 29/30 Police officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 30/30 People are lead to safety away from London Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images

Holly Jones, a BBC reporter at the bridge when the incident happened, said a van had swerved off the road into a crowd of pedestrians.

"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.

"He swerved right round me and then hit about five or six people. He hit about two people in front of me and then three behind.

"I'd say there are about four severely injured people. They all have paramedics assisting them at the moment."

A witness who was in Southwark Street told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I heard this young man try to get the attention of an ambulance saying my friend has been stabbed inside the pub [the Southwark Tavern].

"We saw one other guy who looked like he had been stabbed.

"He was trying to get the attention of the ambulance. He was knocking on the window.

"We saw him covered in blood. He was on his feet but he looked dazed. He also looked calm."

A group of people at a pub nearby told BBC News that they have been told to stay inside and described people "running everywhere".

The group said the incident seemed to be on the south side of London Bridge and that they had seen police escorting people away from the scene.

Another passer-by who witnessed the aftermath of the incident, told BBC News it was "pandemonium" as crowds made their way down Southwark Street away from the scene.

He said: "I started to see dozens of people walking and running away, clearly distraught. Mostly young people, many of them in tears.

"Men walking in an almost zombified state, in shock.

"It appears there was a stabbing at the same time. There were gun shots, people heard multiple gun shots, at least 12 shots.

"I've spoken to multiple witnesses who said they have seen at least three people lying on the ground."

According to reports, the emergency response time was just two minutes.

Another witness Giovanni told BBC News: "I was walking towards London Bridge with my friends after leaving a pub.

"My friends started running. I heard my friend say: 'What's happening, what's happening, there are people on the ground. Everything looks so awful.'

"My friend said 'there is a van, there is a van.'

"We saw three or four people lying on the ground. Then the police arrived and the ambulance arrived.

"The van was heading south on London Bridge. It was on London Bridge. We were walking from Monument towards London Bridge station."

Will Orton, 25, said: "We were in the Sheaf pub. Basically lots of people came running inside, we didn't really know what was going on.

"We thought maybe there was a fight or something outside. And then there were almost hundreds of people coming inside.

"The bouncers did a really good job, they shut the doors and locked everyone in.

"There was panic - it seemed like it was literally outside the door.

"People were coming inside and saying they had witnessed people being stabbed.

"It seemed like it was happening immediately outside the entrance."

People staying in the Premier Inn Bankside have been evacuated across Southwark Bridge.

Dozens, including children, were brought across the bridge by police after the fire alarm in the hotel went off, according to one.

Samuel Templeton, from Belfast, one of the guests in the hotel, said there was a heavy police presence and they were told to cross the bridge in single file.

The guests have since been escorted to a nearby hotel.

Earlier in the night, Scotland Yard said in a series of tweets: “From 10.08pm, officers responded to reports of a vehicle in collision with pedestrians on London Bridge.

“Officers have then responded to reports of stabbings in Borough Market. Armed officers responded and shots have been fired.

“Officers are now responding to an incident in the Vauxhall area.

"At 0025hrs 4/6/17 the incidents at #LondonBridge and #BoroughMarket were declared as terrorist incidents.

"The incident at #Vauxhall is a stabbing and is not connect to the incidents at #LondonBridge & #BoroughMarket."

The London Ambulance Service assistant director of operations, Peter Rhodes, said: "We can confirm we have taken at least 20 patients to six hospitals across London following the incident at London Bridge.

"We have also treated a number of people at the scene for less serious injuries.

"We have declared a major incident and continue to work closely with other members of the emergency services. Our priority is to ensure patients receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible.

"As we are very busy dealing with this incident, we would ask the public to only call us in a genuine emergency and to call NHS 111 for urgent healthcare advice."

Nearby Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation hospital said it was "on lockdown to keep patients, relatives and staff safe".

London Fire Brigade also attended.

Police boats were searching the river - apparently looking for people who may have been thrown off the bridge.

People have been urged not to call 999 unless it is a genuine emergency.