A young woman was killed and 19 people were injured today after a double-decker bus crashed into a tree close to Tower Bridge, one of London's best known landmarks.

The accident happened at about 9.30am just south of the bridge as the route 188 bus travelled on a route between Russell Square and North Greenwich station.

The woman, who worked for the local Sunlight Projects letting company, died as she was walking along the pavement on her way to check on the company's flats.

Colleagues told Times Online that they were shocked when they heard that the woman had died. Jasmine Angkang, 36, a cleaner for the company, said: "She was a very nice lady. One of our colleagues called us and told us she had been involved in the accident. A few minutes later somebody said: 'She's gone.'"

The woman, who is believed to have been in her mid-twenties, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash at the junction of Tower Bridge Road and Tanner Street.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “One woman has died. She has yet to be identified and next of kin informed. She is believed to have been a passer-by and not a passenger on the bus."

A local worker at Costcutter directly opposite the site of the crash said that he heard a "massive bang" before the tree came down. “We went out there to help and didn’t even realise that there was someone underneath the tree. When the emergency services arrived they saw her. They covered the body and moved her to one side.”

Salah Arif, 32, a student from Lewisham, said that he was about ten metres away in his car when the crash happened. "The front of the bus was cracking," he said. "Everything was coming down." He estimated that the bus had been travelling at 20mph.

The police spokesman said the majority of those hurt sustained minor injuries, with two being taken to hospital.

Trevor Harris, web designer at Action Plus Photographic Sports Agency, which is a short distance from the scene, said some of the bus windows were smashed in the crash.

He went on: “I was just coming in to work and I saw all the police. It looked like there were some windows smashed and branches on the road.”

Emlyn Exon, of Anderson Travel coach hire in Tower Bridge Road, said the top deck of the bus had “pretty much caved in” at the front.

He went on: “I was not in the office at the time, I was down the road and I saw the aftermath. There were just shedloads of police and the fire brigade and a couple of ambulances.”

Buses 1, 42 and 188 have been diverted and a spokesman for Transport for London said: "Tower Bridge Road is closed between Abbey Street and Tooley Street, Tanner Street is also closed. There are delays on Tooley Street due to the diversion, however traffic is flowing well on other routes."

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