The Royal Thai Embassy in London has issued a warning for Thai nationals in England to exercise caution in public places following the latest attack in central London in which nine people were killed on Saturday night.
A van swerved into Saturday-night crowds on London Bridge, before three men got out of the vehicle and went on a stabbing rampage through nearby bars in a popular nightlife spot of the city. The men, who wore hoax suicide vests, were shot dead by police, taking the total death toll to nine and the number of injured to at least 20, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley told reporters. The number of injured was later raised to 48. Police believe they have shot all the perpetrators.
Prime Minister Theresa May has called an emergency meeting of security officials and ministers early on Sunday and the police will bolster their presence on the streets of London, Rowley said.
The attack comes as campaigning for the June 8 election enters its final stages with the country still reeling from two other terror attacks this year, most recently the killing of children at a pop concert in Manchester.
No one has claimed responsibility for the killings on Saturday, which bore similarities to an attack in March, when a lone assailant rammed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and then stabbed a police officer outside Parliament. Islamic State claimed the Westminster and the Manchester attacks, and has traditionally encouraged followers to carry out strikes during the holy month of Ramadan.
The incident on Saturday started shortly after 10pm when a van swerved off the road on London Bridge into a crowd of pedestrians, police said. The vehicle continued to Borough Market, a warren of narrow streets that’s popular with tourists and full of bars. There, the three men went on stabbing spree before being shot dead by police.
“They were running, a police officer was trying to put himself between them and the crowd,” Gabriele Sciotto, a photographer who took pictures of the suspects after they were shot, told the BBC. “In around two or five seconds, they shot all three men down.”
The Thai embassy posted the warning on its Facebook page on Sunday morning.
"The embassy would like to advise Thai people in the United Kingdom to exercise caution while travelling at public places, listen to latest news reports and follow advice from the British government," said the warning.
In the event they receive information and want to verify or to inform the embassy, Thai people are advised to contact the embassy on Facebook, or in emergency, contact it via telephone on 0791-865-1720.
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