London Bridge terror attack inquest: Heartbroken fiancé desperately tried to save partner as she died in his arms

Christine Archibald, originally from Castlegar, British Columbia, has been named as the first victim of the attack
REUTERS

The heartbroken fiancé of a woman killed in the London Bridge terror attack today described the moment she died in his arms despite desperate efforts to save her life.

Tyler Ferguson was walking across the bridge with partner Chrissy Archibald, 30, when she was struck by the terrorists’ van and dragged across the carriageway, suffering devastating injuries.

At the inquest into the deaths of the victims this morning, Mr Ferguson revealed how he knew immediately that she was dead but refused to give up as he and others rushed to provide first aid.

“I was looking down at her body while she convulsed and released the life from her physical body”, he said, in a statement read to the inquest.

“I could see Chrissy had suffered devastating injuries from being hit and dragged by the van.”

London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack

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Mr Ferguson said he tried to breath air into her lungs as another man carried out chest compressions, but knew that the efforts were “futile”.

“I pulled my head back and watched (the air) escape from her body”, he said.

“In hindsight I knew at this moment she was dead but I couldn’t give up.”

The couple, from Canada, had enjoyed a Thai meal in central London on the night of the attack, June 3, 2017, and were walking back to their hotel when the attack happened, just after 10pm.

Moments before walking on to the bridge, Ms Archibald had taken her fiancé in a passionate embrace and declared her love for him. He added that they were only there instead of walking over Tower Bridge as Ms Archibald needed the toilet and this route was quicker.

Extremists Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22 drove a rented white van across London Bridge, hitting pedestrians at random before going on a knife rampage through Borough Market.

Describing the moment of the attack, Mr Ferguson said he saw a man screaming and running in fear, before he heard “the squealing sound of tyres from a vehicle coming from behind us”.

“I then noticed a relatively large white transit van on the pavement, hurtling towards Chrissy and I”, he said.

“It was immediately clear to me this was a deliberate act of violence and not an accident. Before I knew it, the van was right on top of us.”

Shocking footage played in court today showed the van mounting the pavement three times, swerving from side to side as the driver attempted to hit groups of pedestrians.

“As I turned, the van driver’s side wing mirror brushed past my left shoulder”, said Mr Ferguson. “I remember hearing a loud thud and then looking for Chrissy. She was no longer next to me.”

He saw his partner’s legs and arms as she was trapped under the front of the van, and saw her lifeless body eventually emerged as the vehicle passed over the central reservation.

“I frantically tried to catch up with her, I was extremely concerned for her wellbeing”, he said.

“She had become unstuck from under the van and laid to rest on the other side of the raised central curb.”

Mr Ferguson said he tried to call for the emergency services by dialing 911, but did not know the correct number.

When Ms Archibald had been declared dead, he realized her engagement ring had been lost in the crash and started scouring the bridge for it.

“For the first time I took the chance to move the focus from Chrissy, it was chaos and mayhem, it was a warzone”, he said, adding that he broke down in tears and was comforted by a stranger as they were ferried away from the scene to a nearby hotel.

Spaniard Xavier Thomas, 45, was also killed after being hit on the bridge and flung into the water, while six others - Alexandre Pigeard, 26, Sara Zelenak, 21, Kirsty Boden, 28, Sebastien Belanger, 36, James McMullan, 32, and Ignacio Echeverria, 39, died of stab injuries during the attack around Borough Market.

The inquest into the deaths of the victims continues.

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