Barcelona's victims: A snapshot of the world
With 14 killed and about 130 injured from some 34 different countries, Thursday's Barcelona attack reflects the way today's acts of terrorism can reach across the globe to cause harm.
The dead and injured in Barcelona's terrorist attack were a snapshot of the world—men, women and children from at least two dozen nations—testifying to the huge global appeal of the sun-kissed city with its bounty of must-visit sites and star-studded football team.
So far, 14 have died in the attack, in addition to about 130 injured from some 34 different countries, 16 of them reported to be in serious condition.
Meanwhile, three Israelis believed to have been in Barcelona
at the time of the attack remain uncontactable.
Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva additionally reported on Friday that an Israeli woman of about 50 who was wounded in the Barcelona attack arrived at Sorkoa on Thursday for treatment. The woman is reported to had been suffering from light wounds dispersed throughout her body. Her condition is said to be stable, and she has already been released home.
Families, friends and government officials from Paris to Sydney, San Francisco to Berlin scrambled Friday to discover whether their loved ones and citizens were among those mowed down by suspected Islamic extremists who zig-zagged down Barcelona's always crowded Las Ramblas promenade in a white van, killing and maiming indiscriminately.
In Belgium, the KFC Heur Tongeren football team was mourning the loss of Elke Vanbockrijck, the mother of two of its junior players, aged 10 and 14. The boys and their father, a policeman, were unhurt, the club president, Arnould Partoens, told The Associated Press. But Belgium officials confirmed that the mother was among the 13 people killed in Thursday's attack in Barcelona. Partoens said the family was on vacation in Barcelona.
There was also another fatality—taking the overall total to 14—in a related attack late Thursday in the popular seaside town of Cambrils, south of Barcelona.
France, already struck repeatedly by terror attacks on its own soil, again was hit hard, counting 26 of its citizens among the more than 100 people injured in the Spanish attacks. The French Foreign Ministry said at least 11 were seriously hurt. The Paris prosecutors' office quickly opened its own investigation, bringing France's domestic security agency in to assist.
Italy said two Italians were among the dead. One appeared to be a young father from Legnano, a town in northern Italy.
German Foreign Ministry counted at least 13 Germans injured—some "so seriously that they are still fighting for their lives," said spokesman Martin Schaefer.
Two Australian women, including one traveling on a British passport, were seriously injured, and two Australian men were treated for injuries in hospital but then discharged, said Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
A 5-year-old Irish boy suffered a broken leg and his father was also injured, according to the Irish government. They were part of a family of four celebrating the boy's birthday.
Romania's foreign ministry says three Romanians are among the injured. All three were hospitalized, and the ministry said that two are in a stable condition while the third suffered light injuries.
Here is a look at some of the victims:
Elke Vanbockrijck, Belgium
Arnould Partoens, president of the KFC Heur Tongeren football team, said Vanbockrijck was at the club "nearly every day," ferrying her 10- and 14-year-old boys back and forth to training and matches. He described her as very committed, often speaking her mind about the boys' and their teams' performances.
"She was not negative. She was always positive," he said in a phone interview. He said the team would hold one minute of silence before every match and training session this weekend.
Partoens said the family was on vacation in Barcelona. The boys and their father, a policeman, were unhurt, he said.
"The mother was in the wrong moment and the wrong place," he said.
In a message of condolence on its Facebook page, the club said: "We deplore the death of Elke, the mother of two players from KFC Heur Tongeren. She was often at the club, and was committed to our club. We will always remember her as a happy woman, a caring mother and loving wife. Elke will be missed. Our deepest sympathy goes out to her two sons, her husband, family and loved ones."
Bruno Gulotta, 35, Italy
The mayor in his town, Legnano in northern Italy, confirmed Gulotta's death. One of his Gulotta's work colleagues, Pino Bruno, told the Italian news agency ANSA that he saved the life of his two young children—Alessandro, six, and Aria, seven months—by throwing himself between them and the van that mowed people down.
Bruno said he spoke to Gulotta's wife, Martina, and that she told him her husband had been holding the six-year-old's hand on the tourist-thronged avenue when "the van appeared suddenly."
"Everyone knelt down, instinctively, as if to protect themselves," Bruno said, adding that Gulotta put himself in front of his children and was fatally struck.
Gulotta was a sales manager for Tom's Hardware Italia, an online publication about technology.
"Rest in peace, Bruno, and protect your loved ones from up high," read one tribute on the company's web site.
Julian Cadman, Australia
Seven-year-old Australian Julian Cadman has been missing after the van attack. His father said that he was at work when the attack happened. Upon discovering that his wife and Julian's mother, Jom, had been seriously injured during the attack, he realized that Julian had been with her during, as well.
In a post on Facebook, Julian's grandfather said the young boy went missing after becoming separated from his mother, during the attack.
"We have found Jom (my daughter-in-law) and she is serious but stable condition in hospital," the boy's grandfather, Tony Cadman, wrote.
He added that at present, they are unsure as to Julian's condition.
Jared Tucker, USA
Jared Tucker's relatives are similarly searching for their loved one. The 43-year-old Louisiana resident disappeared following the attack. He was vacationing in Barcelona with his wife, Heidi, when he stopped to use the restroom. Moments later, the van used in the attack crashed into the crowd, and Heidi found herself in the midst of the commotion that followed, separated from her husband.
Francisco Lopez Rodriguez, Spain
Francisco Lopez Rodriguez was the first Spanish national to be declared dead in the attack.
The 60-year-old's wife was seriously injured, and two other relatives, one of them a three-year-old boy, were killed as a result.
