London attack: How an act of 'terror' rocked the city

As Londoners made their way across the iconic Westminster Bridge on a busy Wednesday afternoon, a senseless act of terrorism brought the city to a standstill.

A car rammed pedestrians on the bridge, killing one woman instantly before the knife-wielding driver fled his vehicle. He was eventually shot dead by police.

As it stands, five people are dead, at least 40 more were injured and London remains in lockdown.

It was about 2.40pm when London Police were called to Westminster Bridge following reports a car had mowed down at least five pedestrians.

"Initially I thought he's lost control of the car, but then I saw quite a few people rushing into parliament and police trying to stop everyone,” witness Michael Adamou told the BBC.

"After a few seconds I just heard gunshots. Everybody on my bus was panicking."

Only a few minutes later witnesses claim they heard gunshots at the House of Commons.

“Bang, bang, bang… we just heard shots being fired,” one witness told reporters adjacent the crime scene.

A session of Britain’s House of Commons was suspended, as politicians inside were placed into lockdown.

As panic filled Westminster and Greater London itself reports continued to flow in as what was being played out around Parliament.

The Associated Press reported that “a man apparently carrying a knife charged through the gates into the front yard of the parliamentary compound.

“Two people were seen to be lying within Old Palace Yard, immediately outside Westminster Hall.”

Commons leader David Lidington informed MPs in lockdown that a “police officer has been stabbed” and that the armed assailant had been shot dead.

Downing Street confirmed Prime Minister Teresa May was safe after she was rushed to safety in a silver Jaguar before she too was placed in lockdown.

At the same time, Transport for London confirmed that Westminster Tube station had been shut down.

By 3.35pm police confirmed they were treating the incident as a terrorist attack.

Aerial footage showed one person covered under a blanket and another being rushed away in an ambulance.

Witness Rick Longley described the moment the police officer was stabbed.

“A guy came past my right shoulder with a big knife and just started plunging it into the policeman," he said.

"I have never seen anything like that. I just can't believe what I just saw."

At 4.00pm MPs around the Houses of Parliament were quickly evacuated to New Scotland Yard.

St Thomas' Hospital confirmed at 4.15pm that one woman had died and a number of others had been hurt, some with “catastrophic injuries”.

A woman was [pulled from the River Thames alive|https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/34766484/video-shows-woman-falling-into-river-thames-in-london-terror-attack/] and was treated for serious injuries.

The London Ambulance Service treated “at least 10 patients” on Westminster Bridge including three French students on a school trip.

At 6.05pm London’s counterterrorism unit confirmed that four people had died, including the attacker and police officer.

“As a service we lost one of our own, as he acted to protect the public and his colleagues. This is a day we planned for, but hoped would never happen. Sadly it is now a reality,” Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said.

A British doctor who was at the scene of the attack recalled the moment he was asked to try and save the wounded assailant.

"We did everything we could, in terms of basic life support and starting to triage injured people at the scene,” Dr Jeeves Wijesuriya recalled.