London attack: Friends and relatives desperately search for victims still missing after terrorist attack

Ignacio Echeverria, Sara Zelenak and Sebastian Belanger are still missing after Saturday's attack

A city worker who used his skateboard to try to save a woman from the knife-wielding terrorists was still missing today.

Ignacio Echeverria, 39, an HSBC analyst, was on his way home from a skate park on Saturday night when he rushed to the aid of the unidentified woman being attacked.

The Spaniard, who lives in Poplar, was last seen lying on a pavement near London Bridge after confronting the terrorist.

His family today said they had been asked for his fingerprints by the authorities.

Ignacio Echeverria has been missing since Saturday's terrorist attack

Mr Echeverria’s sister Isabel, an account operations manager with WEX Virtual Payments, who also lives in London, launched a social media appeal to help find him.

His brother, Joaquin Echeverria, today said they were “praying” for good news, writing on Facebook: “We’ve been asked for Ignacio’s fingerprints. Not a good sign.”

Mr Echeverria, originally from Las Rozas, near Madrid, is not believed to have been carrying ID.

Family and friends of Sara Zelenak are searching for her whereabouts

From the family’s hometown in Laz Rozas near Madrid, his older brother Joaquin Echeverria told the Standard: “He was leaving the area on a hired bike with several friends.

"He suddenly saw someone attacking a woman with a knife. He stopped the bike and hit the man with his skateboard.

“It seems that another terrorist hit him. His friends saw him in the distance fallen down on the ground. That’s all we know.”

The family and friends of Australian nanny Sara Zelenak were also today still searching for information on her whereabouts.

The 21-year-old, originally from Brisbane but living in the capital, was last seen on London Bridge moments before the attack.

A family friend wrote on Facebook: “She calls her mum daily. It’s been over 24 hours with no news.

“Her phone has rang with no reply and now the battery must have gone.”

The first confirmed victim of the terror attack was named as Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, who died in the arms of her fiancé, Tyler Ferguson, after being hit by the speeding van.

Canadian Christine Archibald was the first confirmed victim of the London Bridge attack

Mr Ferguson’s sister, Cassie, said her brother had been “broken in a million pieces” and that the couple had been planning to return home.

She said: “My baby brother lost the love of his life on the London Bridge. In a split second his entire life was ripped away from him. Hearing his painful sobs on the phone while he’s alone trying to deal with this tears me apart.”

Ms Archibald had worked in a homeless shelter in Calgary and had moved to Europe to be with her fiancé after he got a job as an accountant.

Front Pages for London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack

1/9

Her family said in a statement: “We grieve the loss of our beautiful, loving daughter and sister. She had room in her heart for everyone and believed strongly that every person was to be valued and respected.

“She lived this belief, working in a shelter for the homeless until she moved to Europe to be with her fiancé. She would have had no understanding of the callous cruelty that caused her death.

“Please honour her by making your community a better place. Volunteer your time and labour or donate to a homeless shelter. Tell them Chrissy sent you.” Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “heartbroken” that a Canadian was among those killed.

Sebastien Belanger, a French chef who works at the Coq d’Argent restaurant in the City was still missing today after becoming separated from friends after watching the Champions League final at The Barrowboy and Banker in Borough High Street.

Sebastian Belanger, who hasn't been seen since Saturday's attack

Mr Belanger’s girlfriend Gerda Bennet said his phone has been off since the attack and they were desperately appealing for information.

Her sister Greta Tubutyte told the Standard: “Just before the attack they left the bar to go to Boro Bistro.

“When the van hit they thought it was just a car accident. Then after a few seconds they saw people running, screaming, and a guy with a knife attacking.

“He stabbed a woman just in front of them. One of Sebastien’s friend’s got all the blood on him and they panicked and screamed ‘run’.

“Those two friends luckily ran away but while running lost Sebastien. Since then no one has seen him, no one has heard anything from him.”

The sisters are in Malta on holiday and were trying to book Ms Bennet on a flight back to London this morning.

Frenchman Xavier Thomas was still missing while his girlfriend Christine Delcros, also French, was seriously injured and was being treated in hospital.

Christine Delcros pictured with her partner Xavier Thomas, who is missing after the attack
Facebook

A French citizen died in the attacks and seven were taken to hospital, four of whom were in a critical condition, foreign affairs minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

The Frenchman who died was a 27-year-old from Saint-Malo, Brittany, who was working at Boro Bistro, French media reported.

James McMullan, who was drinking at the Barrowboy and Banker pub on Borough High Street when the attack took place, has also not been seen since Saturday.

He had left the pub for a cigarette and agreed to meet his friends outside when they finished their drinks.

When the attack began his friends were rushed upstairs to safety, however he has not been seen or heard from since.

James McMullan, who was out drinking with friends, has been missing since the attack

His sister Melissa wrote on Instagram: “Everyone my amazing and incredibly talented big brother is missing.

“He was outside borough bar smoking at the time. His friends haven’t see him since.

“He is not answering any calls or messages and he is not at home.

“The police are aware but please if anyone has seen him or even thinks they may have seen him in the last 14 hours please contact me or the police.

"Please share this as much as possible. His family need him home x.”

Socaine Drz is also believed to be missing

A young man known as Socaine Drz is also believed to be missing.

His sister, Alika Brown, said: "Please if anyone has seen my brother Socaine Drz please contact me asap he's been missing since 11pm last night.

"We are worried sick police are looking as well."

New Zealander Oliver Dowling was reported to have been left in a coma after being stabbed in the face, neck and stomach.

The 32-year-old, from Christchurch, was said to have had four hours of surgery for his injuries and was in an induced coma. His girlfriend, Marie Bondeville, was also injured.

London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack

1/30

Sunday Express business editor Geoff Ho was left in intensive care after being stabbed in the throat when he tried to help a wounded bouncer outside the Southwark Tavern, but was today said to be sitting up in hospital and recovering well.

Friend Isabelle Oderberg said: “He is actually a martial artist and I wouldn’t be surprised if he would have stood up and been counted because he’s just that type of person.”

A tweet he wrote moments before being stabbed showed that he had bravely been trying to break up what he believed was a Saturday night brawl.

He posted: “Don’t know whether it was stupid or noble to jump in and break up the fight outside the Southwark Tavern, but two a***s trying to do over the lone bouncer on the door isn’t happening on my watch.”

A British Transport Police officer and an off-duty Metropolitan Police officer were also in hospital with serious injuries but neither was believed to be in a life-threatening condition, Scotland Yard said.

Brett Freeman, a soldier and father-of-three from Dagenham, was recovering in hospital after being stabbed four times.

Elizabeth O’Neill, said her son Daniel, 23, was left with a seven-inch wound from his stomach to his back and was saved by a friend who applied a tourniquet. He was being treated at King’s College Hospital.

Drinkers at the Wheatsheaf pub in Borough Market praised a bouncer only known as “Ozzy”, who saved lives by hurling bar stools, bottles and glasses at the terrorists to stop them from attacking customers.

An unnamed taxi driver told LBC radio that he had tried to ram one of the terrorists with his car on London Bridge, but the killer dodged out of the way.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in