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		</div><p>The first victim of the London Bridge terror attack was on the phone to his teenage son when he was killed, an inquest heard.</p>
<p>Frenchman and devoted father-of-two Xavier Thomas was hit by a van and “catapulted” over the balustrade into the Thames as he walked on the bridge at 10.06pm on June 3 2017.</p>
<p>Seconds before impact, telephone records show the 45-year-old accountant was on the phone to his son Nicolas, then aged 17, the court was told.</p>
<p>His partner of two years, Christine Delcros, was also struck and seriously injured.</p>
<p>Mr Thomas’s glasses were found on the pavement near where he was hit by the van containing three terrorists.</p>
<p>His body was not found until three days later and the cause of death was put down to immersion in the water.</p>
<p>The attackers’ van was travelling at an average speed of 27mph when it veered on to the pavement and also struck 30-year-old Christine Archibald, the inquest was told.</p>
<p>Ms Archibald, who was with her fiance Tyler Ferguson, was dragged down the road under the van’s wheel and then run over, causing multiple injuries.</p>
<p>Pakistan-born Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, both from Morocco, then crashed into the railings.</p>
<p>The men emerged carrying 12in pink ceramic knives and wearing mock explosive belts.</p>
<p>They continued their rampage on foot, killing four more members of the public in Green Dragon Court near Borough Market.</p>
<p>Sara Zelenak, 21, died from a stab wound to the neck and Sebastien Belanger, 36, was cornered by the attackers and fatally knifed in the chest.</p>
<p>Waiter Alexandre Pigeard, 26, had gone out of Boro Bistro to investigate the crash when he too was stabbed in the neck.</p>
<p>He managed to run back towards the restaurant before he collapsed, the court heard.</p>
<p>Nurse Kirsty Boden, 28, who had been out with friends, came to his aide but was also knifed as she attempted to save him.</p>
<p>James McMullan, 32, had been watching the Champions League final with friends in the Barrowboy and Banker pub before he was stabbed in the chest.</p>
<p>The final fatality was Ignacio Echeverria, 39, who was attacked next to Borough High Street.</p>
<p>A total of 48 people were seriously hurt in the onslaught, some of them as they tried to help the stricken victims.</p>
<p>The attackers were shot dead by police just before 10.16pm, 10 minutes after the start of the rampage.</p>
<p>The Old Bailey inquest was shown pictures of the scene as well as images of the knives and fake suicide belts.</p>
<p>Detective Superintendent Rebecca Riggs told the court how the events unfolded before Coroner Mark Lucraft QC adjourned for the day.</p>
<p>The inquest is expected to hear detail of Mr Thomas’s death on Wednesday.</p>
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