GTA couple in London describes fear, chaos after attacks

A Toronto couple in London to promote a dance competition TV show say they were forced to flee their rented apartment on Saturday night in the midst of the attacks that left seven dead and dozens wounded.

One Canadian is among the dead.

Luka Milacic-Perusina and Jenalyn Saraza-Pacheco say they were at an AirBnB in Borough Market, as part of a promotion of NBC's World of Dance TV show, when they heard gunshots, a loud crash and the wail of police sirens.

"The only thing we knew for sure was that something serious was occurring and that we needed to be aware. Now, exactly what it was, we didn't know," Milacic-Perusina told CNN.

• 'Twisted and cowardly terrorists' condemned after London attackers kill 7, injure 48

"But we knew that there was something huge happening just outside our doorstep. We could see immediately on people's faces, the fear, the surprise and the need to get out. There was a lot of running, a lot of commotion that was happening.

"Thankfully, the London Police, they came in and took control of the situation very well, but it was extremely chaotic for a little bit." 

Milacic-Perusina said police yelled at the couple to come down from the third floor of the building, which is in front of the market where one of the incidents occurred. They were peeking out of the window at the time. 

Saraza-Pacheco said, when they went out onto the street, they saw people running barefoot and in their pyjamas.

"We were just upstairs in our little apartment and we were just looking down. People were all running. We were confused as to what was happening. We just saw a whole lot of police and sirens. It was really loud and it was kind of traumatizing, honestly," she said.

Neither of them had any idea about the nature of the attack. They were told to get away as far as possible from the area and they left their luggage in the apartment.

"We just got out of there as quickly as we could," she said.

Ended up staying with friends

On their professional Facebook page, the pair said they ended up staying with friends that night. They were scheduled to fly back to Toronto the day after the attacks.

In the attack, police and witnesses say a white van barrelled into pedestrians on London Bridge and then men with large knives started attacking people at nearby bars and restaurants in Borough Market. Officers shot and killed the three suspected assailants.

Authorities say 12 people have been arrested in east London in connection with the attacks. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement on Sunday that he is "heartbroken" that a Canadian is among the victims. The Canadian has been identified as Christine Archibald of B.C.