French students among injured in London attack

Published 23/03/2017

Three French secondary school students were among those hurt by a terrorist incident in London, UK, yesterday – two of whom were injured badly when a car was driven into people on Westminster Bridge near the Houses of Parliament.

The students were in a group of over 90 students on a school trip to London, according to France’s Huffington Post site.

Five South Korean tourists were also affected at the scene, with one receiving a serious injury.

As the world woke up to the full extent of the terrorist incident today, the impact will inevitably be felt by Britain’s tourism sector. London is the most popular tourist destination in the UK and this was apparent just from the range of nationalities impacted, with two Romanians also injured.

But in the tourism and in the study travel sector, key stakeholders emphasised the fact this was an isolated incident, with swift reaction of security services.

Sarah Cooper, chief executive of English UK, said: “We are profoundly shocked by the act of one individual yesterday, and our thoughts are with the families of the visitors and Londoners who were caught up in this attack.

“But we have been encouraged by the quick and effective response of our police and security services. Londoners are back at work today, sad, but determined that our city will not be stopped by this one random attack.”

And the European Tourism Association urged, “This incident has to be viewed in context. Anywhere there are cars, fatalities occur. In terms of traffic safety, Britain happens to be a world leader. The intentional nature of this incident makes it newsworthy. It does not make the UK any less safe. It will still be one of the safest countries in the world to be a pedestrian. It will still be one of the safest countries on earth to be a visitor.”

Representing English language schools, Cooper reminded that “English UK member centres take their responsibility to protect students very seriously, and will be carefully monitoring the situation as it develops.”

“Our accredited centres have the strictest regulations in the world on caring for under-18s and keeping them safe, and of course they will regularly update any advice given to adult students if necessary.”

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