THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday confirmed that the seven-year-old Filipino boy earlier reported missing in the bloody Barcelona terror attack Thursday was among the 14 fatalities in incident.
According to Chargé d’Affaires Emmanuel Fernandez, it was the family of the victim who informed the Philippine Embassy in Madrid about the death.
Fernandez also said the boy’s 43-year-old mother is still in the intensive care unit of a local hospital after undergoing surgery for fractures in both of her legs and one arm.
A British-Australian boy, Julian Cadman, 7, also died in the vehicle rampage in Barcelona. His family said he was on holiday for a family wedding and had been separated from his mother who is in hospital in a serious but stable condition.
“He was so energetic, funny and cheeky, always bringing a smile to our faces. We are so blessed to have had him in our lives and will remember his smiles and hold his memory dear to our hearts,” his family said.
The attack in Barcelona was carried out using a vehicle that plowed through pedestrians in Las Ramblas tourist district killing 14 individuals and injuring more than 100 others.
“It pains us to break the sad news to our kababayans that we lost one of our own in the recent violence unleashed by extremists against the innocent in Barcelona,” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano.
Cayetano has directed Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola to make sure that all possible assistance is extended to the family of the deceased and other Filipino victims of the incident.
“We join the loved ones of our little brother in mourning his passing and in praying for the eternal repose of his soul,” Cayetano added.
Two other Filipinos based in Italy were among those injured in the attack and will be provided assistance by the Philippine Consulate General in Milan.
Also injured in the attack were four Irish citizens of Filipino descent identified as Norman Potot, 45, wife Pederlita, 39, daughter Nailah Pearl, 9, and son Nathaniel Paul, 5, have also been assisted by the Embassy and the Honorary Consulate in Barcelona.
Norman and Nathaniel remain confined at the Hospital Del Mar in Barcelona.