The seven-year-old British-born boy lost in the Barcelona terror attack has been confirmed dead.
Julian Cadman was separated from his mother Jumarie when a terrorist rammed a van into pedestrians on Las Ramblas, killing 13 on Thursday.
In the days after the terror attack, there was confusion among the public over if Julian was alive due to conflicting reports over his whereabouts.
His father Andrew, a 42-year-old cabinet maker, was reportedly taken to the forensic institute, which includes a mortuary, when he arrived from his home in Sydney, Australia.
Julian Cadman, who was separated from his mother Jumarie when a van rammed into pedestrians on Las Ramblas killing 13 on Thursday, has been confirmed dead
Hopes faded for a seven-year-old British boy (right with his mother) lost in the Barcelona terror attack when his father arrived in the city on Saturday and was taken to a forensic centre. Pictured left: A friend or relative being escorted by police to the forensic institute
Julian’s mother – who is from the Philippines and known as Jom – is recovering in hospital with broken legs after being hit by the van driven by an ISIS jihadi. She was in the city with her son for her niece’s wedding.
Australian Mr Cadman, who flew overnight for 22 hours, landed in Barcelona airport on Saturday and was immediately met by Australian consular officials who took him to the justice centre in the city.
Mrs Cadman – who is from the Philippines and known as Jom – is recovering in hospital with broken legs. She is pictured with her son
A car which had picked him up at the airport was seen arriving at the centre soon afterwards.
The centre includes a mortuary where the bodies of victims of crimes are stored to allow post mortems and forensic examinations to take place.
He is believed to have stayed at the centre for an hour before being driven to the Vell d’Hebron Hospital to visit his wife under police escort.
Five relatives and friends of Mrs Cadman were at her bedside. A hospital official said: ‘It is a hard moment for them at this time. They are very upset.’
He confirmed that Mrs Cadman had undergone surgery and was now receiving care in a surgery recovery unit.
Earlier today a man who stayed by Mrs Cadaman’s side after she was injured in the attack revealed how she begged for information about her missing son.
British-Australian Julian, who was born in Kent in the UK but moved to Sydney three years ago, was pictured smiling hours before he was tragically separated from his mother during the chaos.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull addressed the tragic search for the seven-year-old at a Liberal Conference on Saturday asking all Australians to say a prayer for the ‘little Australian boy’.
Julian is believed to have been wearing a white collared shirt, aviator sunglasses and a printed cap when he was last seen just hours before the shocking terror attack
The aftermath of the Las Ramblas attack is seen in an aerial view for the first time in this exclusive picture, taken by Briton John Ward from his balcony, just minutes after the terror atrocity. The picture shows: (1) An injured pedestrian being attended to. (2) A body amid the scattered papers of a news-stand. (3) A casualty wrapped in an emergency foil blanket. (4) Medics tending a badly injured person next to the clearly damaged terrorists’ van. (5) Another covered body; (6) A victim caught up in the horror
The boy was a student at St Bernadette’s Primary in Lalor Park.
Las Ramblas, a street of stalls and shops that cuts through the center of Barcelona, is one of the city’s top tourist destinations. People walk down a wide, pedestrian path in the center of the street while cars can travel on either side.
Police immediately cordoned off the city’s broad avenue and ordered stores and nearby Metro and train stations to close.
Other witnesses also described horrific scenes and fearful crowds in the aftermath of the van attack, which has been claimed by the Islamic State.
The attack in the northeastern Spanish city was the country’s deadliest since 2004, when al-Qaeda-inspired bombers killed 192 people in coordinated attacks on Madrid’s commuter trains.
The youngster became separated from his mother during the attack. She is now in a serious condition in a Barcelona hospital, suffering serious injuries
Police have not confirmed Julian’s condition but earlier tweeted: ‘Neither were we searching nor have we found any lost child in the Barcelona attack. All the victims and injured have been located.’
Spain has been on a security alert one step below the maximum since June 2015 following attacks elsewhere in Europe and Africa.
Cars, trucks and vans have been the weapon of choice in multiple extremist attacks in Europe in the last year.
The most deadly was the driver of a tractor-trailer who targeted Bastille Day revelers in the southern French city of Nice in July 2016, killing 86 people.
In December 2016, 12 people died after a driver used a hijacked truck to drive into a Christmas market in Berlin.
There have been multiple attacks this year in London, where a man in a rented SUV plowed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four people before he ran onto the grounds of Parliament and stabbed an unarmed police officer to death in March.
Four other men drove onto the sidewalk of London Bridge, unleashing a rampage with knives that killed eight people in June.
Another man also drove into pedestrians leaving a north London mosque later in June.