13 confirmed dead after van hits Las Ramblas crowds in Barcelona
By Charlie Moore and Andrew Young For Mailonline
Hopes faded for a seven-year-old British boy lost in the Barcelona terror attack when his father arrived in the city this evening and was taken to a forensic centre.
Julian Cadman was separated from his mother Jumarie when a terrorist rammed a van into pedestrians on Las Ramblas, killing 14, on Thursday.
His father Andrew, a 42-year-old cabinet maker, was tonight escorted by police to the forensic institute which includes a mortuary when he arrived from his home in Sydney, Australia, reports the Daily Mail.
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."
Image 1 of 12: Police officers stand next to the van involved on an attack in Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain. Photo / AP
Social media appeals for information on the youngster were taken down yesterday.
Mrs Cadman - 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 this afternoon and was immediately met by Australian consular officials who took him to the justice centre in the city.
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.
Pharmacist Fouad Bakkali comforted her on the floor of his Las Ramblas pharmacy where he harboured 50 terrified tourists.
He told her to keep calm but, suffering two broken legs, she repeatedly asked him "where's my 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.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo today reported the seven-year-old was found in a hospital, but the Spanish police and British Foreign Office said he was still unaccounted for.
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".
"In this attack we have seen Australians injured and there is a little Australian boy, whose mother was badly injured and is in hospital and he is lost. He is missing in Barcelona," Mr Turnbull said.
"I think we should all in our quiet moments say a prayer for that little boy. All of us as parents know the anguish his father and his whole family is going through as they rush to seek to find him in Barcelona."
Family and friends said they were "beside themselves" and were reaching out on Facebook.
"If you know anyone in that area that you can share this with, please do so," Julian's godfather, Colin Baxter, wrote on the site.
Andrew Cadman's boss, Scott, told 2GB that the devastated father had no idea his wife and child were in any danger before arriving at work about 6am on Friday and listening to the news. When he failed to make contact with them, he began to panic.
"He's on his way to the airport at the moment, but we found out about an hour later his son was with her and he's missing, and we haven't heard anything since," he said on Saturday.
"He's flying to Spain at the moment not knowing if his son is dead or alive."
The man continued to say Mr Cadman was "absolutely beside himself", and "can't do much more than sort of put one foot in front of another at the moment."
Julian's aunt Maricar Querimit Estera shared her concerns via social media, asking followers to "Pray for my nephew who still missing in [the] Barcelona attack".
"Your family are waiting for you," she added in what appeared to be a direct plea to Julian.
The boy, who is a student at St Bernadette's Primary in Lalor Park, is last believed to have been wearing a white collared shirt, aviator sunglasses and a printed cap.
Norma Canaveral, who is Jom's aunt - but is called "granny" by Julian - told MailOnline: "We are so worried. I am just waiting for news, hoping for good news."
The 66-year-old, from London, added: "I don't know what to say. His mother is in the hospital, she's OK, but she became separated from Julian and we don't know where he is. All we can do is wait.
"Julian's a really sweet boy. He loves to dance, he's a lovely, bubbly boy."
"Your family are waiting for you," Julian's aunt speaks to him over social media. Photo / Supplied
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.
MFB Commander Graeme O'Sullivan was one of the first responders at Melbourne's Bourke St tragedy in January.
He and his wife saw the latest carnage unfold from the rooftop of their Barcelona hotel.
"We were up on the sixth floor roof terrace, just the pool area, enjoying a few drinks," he told Nine.
"We could clearly hear thuds as the vehicle was running into people, and then a short time after that, obviously, several very loud sickening screams from the people involved down at street level."
Mr O'Sullivan said the similarity to the Bourke Street Mall event was chilling.
"Bourke Street wasn't terrorism and this appears to be, but the result is still the same," he told Melbourne radio 3AW.
The attack in the northeastern Spanish city was the country's deadliest since 2004, when al-Qaeda-inspired bombers killed 192 people in co-ordinated attacks on Madrid's commuter trains.
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 revellers 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 trick to drive into a Christmas market in Berlin.
There have been multiple attacks this year in London, where a man in a rented SUV ploughed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four people before he ran on to the grounds of Parliament and stabbed an unarmed police officer to death in March.
