Woman killed by tree in bus crash horror

A woman was killed today when she was hit by a tree which is believed to have been torn up by a passing bus near Tower Bridge.

The freak accident is thought to have happened when overhanging branches of a plane tree smashed into the top deck of a No188 and became entangled.

As the driver desperately tried to control the bus, the tree trunk was wrenched out of the ground and struck 23-year-old Emily Diamond on the head as she was walking along the street. She is understood to have just left her office 50 yards away at Sunlight Projects, a letting company, to check a property.

At first rescuers concentrated on treating the 18 injured passengers and the driver, not knowing she was lying underneath the tree at the junction of Tower Bridge Road and Tanner Street.

Lorry driver Tom Riley, 32, said he suddenly saw a body under the tree. He said the woman was "ashen-faced" with blood coming from her head. "She was a beautiful-looking girl," he said.

Miss Diamond, a film and television studies graduate, lived with her parents in Abbey Wood, south-east London.

Witnesses to the crash heard a loud bang and saw passengers run from the bus in panic fearing it was a bomb attack. The driver was said to have fainted in shock moments after the crash.

Six ambulances and paramedic teams treated the injured in the street. Nine people were taken to hospital, four of them thought to be serious with spine and head injuries.

The No 188 was travelling from Russell Square to North Greenwich.

Steve Dunne, 44, of Greenwich, said: "It looked like 7 July all over again. There were police and paramedics there and there were injured people lying down all over the place being treated.

"I could see the bus driver being treated. There was a large section of the tree on the ground."

Salah Arif, 32, a librarian from Lewisham, had been driving towards the bus when it hit the tree.

He saw the front window of the top deck being smashed by a tree branch, shattering the glass and causing the bus driver to fight to keep control of the vehicle.

He said: "The poor bus driver was trying to control the bus. I could see the panic in his face. I got out of my car and went over to the bus to try and calm people down.

"A couple of people looked as though theywere trying to blame the bus driver but I told them it was an accident and to leave him alone."

Mr Arif said he leapt onto the bus and went upstairs and saw shards of glass and metal lying on the seats and the floor.

A woman in her thirties was lying motionless on a seat being helped by three other passengers. He said: "She looked badly injured. There was also another young woman downstairs who was so shocked she could not talk."

Charles Fayinka, 28, a document controller from a company near the scene of the crash, said: "I was in the office and I heard a loud crash.

"We all came outside to see what had happened immediately and saw everybody in a panic. The tree must have been buckling a bit and the bus must have driven into it."

Some of the worst injured of the passengers are believed to have been sitting in the front on the top deck.

Tower Bridge was closed with traffic being diverted. Worst-hit by the congestion were Tooley Street, Jamaica Road and parts of the Old Kent Road. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We are trying to establish the circumstances surrounding the collision.

"A woman was pronounced dead at the scene and a further nine people have been taken to London hospitals. Officers are speaking to the driver of the bus." The 188 is operated by the Travel London company. Emlyn Exon, of Anderson Travel coach hire in Tower Bridge Road, said the top deck of the bus had "pretty much caved in" at the front. "There were just shedloads of police, the fire brigade and ambulances."

Six of the crash victims are being treated at St Thomas' hospital inWestminster-Bridge Road. It is understood that the other patients were taken to the Royal London hospital in Whitechapel. Crews from six ambulances attended the accident.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: "Our crews arrived within three minutes of the original call and treated patients at the scene." Travel London operates more than 30 bus routes in the London area. A spokeswoman said: "We are working with the police and emergency services to try to understand what caused the incident.

"The bus has hit the tree but we are trying to find out what happened."

A Transport for London spokeswoman said: "We understand no other vehicle was involved." TfL said it had launched an investigation, adding: "Trees along this section of Tower Bridge Road are owned and maintained by Transport for London. We have a rigorous tree maintenance programme.

"All aspects of the incident will be included in our investigation."