Five South Koreans injured in UK parliament attack: ministry

[SEOUL] Five South Koreans were injured near the British parliament on Wednesday in what UK police called a "marauding terrorist attack," South Korea's foreign ministry said in Seoul.

Five people were killed in the attack, including the assailant who drove a car into pedestrians on the Westminster Bridge and a policeman he later stabbed. At least 20 people were injured.

It was the deadliest attack in London since four British Islamists killed 52 commuters and themselves in suicide bombings on the city's transport system in July 2005, London's worst peacetime attack.

The five South Koreans were injured in the chaos that ensued in the attack, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Three women and one man in their 50s and 60s suffered injuries including broken bones, the ministry said. Another woman in her 60s suffered a head injury while falling and was taken to a hospital and was receiving surgery.

There was no word on the seriousness of the injuries.

The five were being treated at two hospitals, and South Korean consular officials were on site to assist them, the ministry said. A text message to South Korean nationals visiting Britain has been sent advising precaution following the attack.

South Korea's acting president Hwang Kyo-Ahn's office said in a statement that Mr Hwang had ordered the foreign ministry to take all measures necessary to protect and treat the injured.

Mr Hwang also had requested foreign ministry personnel cooperate with on-site authorities to ensure the safety of South Korean citizens.

REUTERS