07 June 2017•Update: 08 June 2017
By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
LONDON
The death toll from Saturday’s terror attack in London now stands at eight after the recovery of a body from the River Thames, British police said on Wednesday.
“Detectives investigating the terrorist attack in London Bridge on Saturday, 3 June, can confirm the number of people that were killed as a result of the attack is now eight,” a Metropolitan Police statement read.
An earlier appeal had sought information on a missing French citizen. The body recovered from the River Thames on Wednesday is believed to be that of missing Frenchman Xavier Thomas, 45.
French President Emmanuel Macron later confirmed there had been a third French victim of the London attack.
"We received confirmation of the new toll this morning. There are three deaths and eight injuries on the French side," Macron said.
Earlier on Wednesday France's Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian confirmed a second Frenchman had been killed in the attack.
Local media identified the victim as Sebastien Belanger, 36, a chef who had worked at a restaurant in London.
The first of the three French victims was identified earlier -- also in the media -- as Alexandre Pigeard, 26, who was also working in a French restaurant in London's Borough Market.
A Spanish victim from Saturday’s attack was also confirmed by his family on Wednesday: Ignacio Echevarría, dubbed the “skateboard hero” after witnesses saw him try to protect a woman by fighting off one of the assailants with his skateboard.
He had worked as an analyst at HSBC in London.
“He is a model of solidarity. His courage to defend another person serves as a reminder to stay united before the scourge of terrorism,” said a Spanish Foreign Ministry statement.
The other confirmed victims of Saturday’s three-man attack are 32-year-old British web entrepreneur James McMullan, 21-year-old Australian au pair Sara Zelenak, 28-year old Australian nurse Kirsty Boden and 30-year-old former homeless shelter worker Christine Archibald, a Canadian.
Almost 50 people were injured when three attackers drove into crowds in central London before going on a stabbing spree. Police later shot the three assailants dead.
Eighteen of the injured are still in critical condition, according to health officials.
*Hajer M'tiri and Alyssa McMurtry contributed to this report from Paris and Madrid.
