I had premonition of attacks, says fiancee of terrorists’ victim
THE fiancée of a London Bridge terror victim urged him to change their sightseeing plans because of “premonitions” of an attack.
Christine Delcros told an inquest that her fears made her ask Xavier Thomas to cancel their plans to go for a drink at The Shard on the first night of their visit to London on June 3, 2017.
But when he failed to find an alternative, she agreed to go “to not disappoint him”.
The couple, from France, were on London Bridge at 10.06pm when three terrorists drove a 2.5-ton truck on to the pavement and right at them.
Father-of-two Mr Thomas, 45, was knocked into the Thames 43ft below and drowned. His body was recovered several days later.
Ms Delcros’s pelvis, collarbone and one of her vertebrae were broken by the impact.
The 47-year-old, who uses a stick to walk now, told the Old Bailey she had been troubled throughout the day by the thought of terrorists.
She said: “Just before we reached the bridge, I told him we shouldn’t go there.
“He couldn’t understand it and he was saying, ‘Why are you saying that?’ to me and I told him I didn’t know. I had so many premonitions about terror attacks from the day before and I could feel it. But I didn’t tell him.”
Mr Thomas took out his phone and tried to find a different venue, but struggled due to the late hour.
Ms Delcros said: “He said, ‘But that’s OK, you will see it is a magnificent view.’ He had planned everything already. To not disappoint him, I said OK.”
They began to walk across the bridge, she said.
Ms Delcros added: “Suddenly, I was under the impression there was a lot of light and … a van that mounted the pavement in a fashion to make sure they weren’t going to miss us.”
Crying, she went on: “I thought that I had died, that the curtain had fallen. I have no recollection of the crash.” Asked by Jonathan Hough QC if she wanted to add to her evidence, she said: “I’m madly in love with Xavier.”
Holly Jones, a journalist who was narrowly missed by the van, was among those who rushed to Ms Delcros’s aid.
She wept as she recalled: “She kept saying, ‘Where’s my boyfriend, where’s my boyfriend?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know’.”
The inquests into the deaths of the eight victims of the attack continue.