The inquests into the deaths of eight people killed during the London Bridge terror attack have opened at Southwark Coroner’s Court.
Three terrorists ran over pedestrians on London Bridge with a white van before stabbing random victims in Borough Market on June 3.
The attackers – Khurta Shazad Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22 – were shot dead by police within eight minutes of the first emergency call at about 10pm on June 3.
Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, was struck by the speeding van as she walked across the bridge with her fiancé Tyler Ferguson.
James McMullan, 32, from Hackney, was killed outside the Barrowboy and Banker pub, where the terrorists crashed and began their rampage.
Australian au pair Sara Zelenak, 21, who is reported to have worked in Herne Hill, was fatally stabbed.
Kirsty Boden, a 28-year-old nurse also from Australia, was stabbed as she ran to help the wounded on London Bridge.
HSBC worker Ignacio Echeverria, 39, from Madrid, was fatally wounded as he tried fend the terrorists off with his skateboard.
Alexandre Pigeard, a 26-year-old Frenchman who was working on the terrace of Boro Bistro restaurant in Borough Market, was also fatally stabbed.
His fellow countryman, Coq d’Argent chef Sebastien Belanger, was struck as he left a pub where he had been watching the Champions League Final with friends.
A third Frenchman, Xavier Thomas, 45, was pulled from the River Thames three days after the attack – it is thought he was hit by the van and thrown off the bridge.
Southwark Coroner Andrew Harris offered his condolences to family members in court on Tuesday (June 13).
“This is the beginning of the investigation into those terrible deaths,” Dr Harris said. “lt is a horrible thing for parents to hear the details of the death, particularly a violent one, of their children. I offer my condolences.”
Detective chief inspector Simon Moring, of the Met’s Specialist Crime and Operations Department, confirmed that Sebastian Belanger, 36, died of a stab wound to the chest in Borough Market.
Representatives from the Spanish Consul were present to hear that 39-year-old HSBC worker Ignacio Echeverria, from Madrid, died from a stab wound to the back on London Bridge.
Hackney resident James McMullan, 32, who was found outside the Post Office on Borough High Street, died of a haemorrhage and a stab wound to the chest.
Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, 28, was found with incised stab wounds to the chest in the vicinity of Southwark Cathedral, in Montague Close.
Australian au pair Sara Zelenak, 21, who is reported to have worked in Herne Hill, was fatally stabbed.
A third Frenchman, Xavier Thomas, 45, was pulled from the River Thames three days after the attack – it is thought he was hit by the van and thrown off the bridge.
The inquests for Christine Archibald and Alexandre Pigeard were opened on Wednesday (June 14).
Canadian Ms Archibald, 30, was struck by the speeding van as she walked across the bridge with her fiancé Tyler Ferguson.
Mr Pigeard, a 26-year-old Frenchman who was working on the terrace of Boro Bistro restaurant in Borough Market, was fatally stabbed.
The opening of the inquests took place on June 13 and 14 and the full inquests for the eight victims will be set for a later date.
Note: this article was updated at 3.20pm on June 14