A young woman crushed to death when a bus hit a tree in near Tower Bridge in South London this morning has been named as Emily Diamond.

The 23-year-old office worker, from Bexleyheath in South East London, was walking along the pavement when a passing bus crashed into a tree, bringing it down on top of her.

The freak accident took place at about 9.30am, when Ms Diamond was on her way to inspect flats operated by Sunlight Projects, the property management company for which she works.

The 188 bus collided with the tree just south of Tower Bridge as it travelled between Russell Square and North Greenwich station. The roof of the bus was pulled away from the vehicle and 19 other people were injured in the collision.

Colleagues told Times Online that they were shocked when they heard that Ms Diamond 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: 'Emily's gone.'"

She was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash at the junction of Tower Bridge Road and Tanner Street.

Police informed Ms Diamond's parents of her death this afternoon at the family home in Bexleyheath.

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.

Charles Fayinka, 28, whose office is based next to the accident site, said that he thought the tree branches must have been waving in the wind when the bus drove into them. "We heard a loud bash, and we came out to see what had happened. People were in a state of panic. There was a lady crying. I think a lot of people were in shock."

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