Woman accused of killing two schoolgirls with poisoned raspberries in Colombia rescued from Thames

Zulma Guzman Castro was pulled from the river close to Battersea Bridge, west London, on Tuesday morning in a dramatic rescue operation.

She is alleged to have killed two schoolgirls after spiking the fruit with thallium, a colourless and odourless heavy metal, as an "act of vengeance" after a secret affair with the father of one of the victims.

The two girls, Ines de Bedout, 14, and her close friend Emilia Forero, 13, died in April, just days after eating the sweet treat. Castro denies the killings.

It was allegedly injected directly into the raspberries before being sent to the girls on April 3 this year. Ines and Emilia are reported to have died four days later, according to Colombian media.

Earlier this month an Interpol Red Notice to find Castro was issued with advice that she had visited Brazil, Spain and the UK since leaving Colombia earlier this year.

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It's understood Castro came to Britain on November 11 and the National Crime Agency were actively hunting for her, The Sun reports.

Rescuers scoured the river with searchlights before finding Castro.

Colombian authorities have made a request to the UK for her capture and it is understood a warrant was issued by Westminster Magistrates Court for her arrest earlier this week.

A Met Police spokesman said: "Police were called at 06:45hrs on Tuesday, 16 December to reports of a woman in distress on Battersea Bridge.

"The Met’s Marine Policing Unit recovered a woman in her 50s from the water at 07.14hrs and she was taken to hospital, where her injuries have since been deemed not life-threatening or life-changing."

If and when she is fit enough, Castro will be taken into custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates' for an extradition hearing.

Earlier this month, Emilia's devastated father Pedro Forero paid tribute to his daughter in an emotional social media tribute.

He wrote "Fourteen years ago, a life of hopes, joys and dreams began; a life that filled a family, a father and a mother. 

"But it wasn't just the joy of someone else's life; it was the beginning of the life of an excellent human being who had dreams, hopes and goals.

"As a father, it is incomprehensible to think that someone was capable of taking this away.

"She did not just take away my dreams, my desires and my prospects in life as a father; she did not just take away my opportunity to be a father-in-law, grandfather and everything else one can be as a parent.

"She took away my daughter's opportunity to be a girlfriend, a professional, a wife, a mother and a daughter."

Local media claims the businesswoman, who founded an electric car rental company named Car B, may have poisoned the girls in a calculated bid to take revenge on her former lover.

Another teenage girl who ate the poisoned raspberries, along with the 21-year-old brother of one of the victims, were hospitalised following the incident seven months ago.

Both survived, but the girl is said to have suffered lasting health problems.

Castro has denied killing the girls and said she came to the UK because her son is here.

She said in a message while on the run: “I find myself in the middle of a very serious situation, where I’m being accused of having been the person who sent a poison that killed two girls.

“They accuse me of having fled to Argentina, and then to Brazil, Spain and the UK.“Those who know me know I haven’t fled anywhere. They know I’ve been working in Argentina and began a masters in journalism here.

“I went to Spain more than a month ago, with a stopover in Brazil, and then to the UK because of my son.

“I imagine they’re accusing me because I had a secret relationship with the father of one of the girls.”