The British Foreign Office and Catalan police have dismissed reports that seven-year-old Julian Cadman had been found alive in hospital as "incorrect".
Earlier today, it was reported that the little boy who holds dual British and Australian citizenship had been found alive in hospital.
However, it appears his whereabouts are still unknown.
Julian had been reported missing by his grandfather Tony Cadman who lives in Australia.
The young boy had been visiting the city with his mother Jom who is said to be a serious condition in hospital. He became separated from his mother in the chaos that followed the attack.
Tony took to social media to share an image of Julian wearing a nursery school uniform, writing: “My grandson, Julian Alessandro Cadman, is missing. Please like and share.
Help find missing #JulianCadman during #Barcelona terrorist attack. https://t.co/FpuIq67FN3 Please re-tweet. Thank you! pic.twitter.com/CCr6DZEXWk
— Tonette Burdeos (@TonetteBurdeos) August 18, 2017
“We have found Jom (my daughter-in-law) and she is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.
“Julian is seven years old and was out with Jom when they were separated, due to the recent terrorist activity. Please share if you have family or friends in Barcelona.”
His heartfelt appeal was shared by thousands of people across the world. Julian’s father flew out to Barcelona from Sydney yesterday to search for his son.
Following his grandfather’s appeal, Prime Minister Theresa May said that British authorities were urgently looking into reports of a child believed missing, who is a British dual-national but did not name him.
Earlier today, reports suggested Julian had been found however, this has been denied by the Foreign Office.
15:00 Neither we were searching nor we have found any lost child in the Barcelona attack. All the victims and injured have been located
— Mossos (@mossos) August 19, 2017
The Catalan Police force Mossos d'Esquadra issued a statement this afternoon saying: "There are many who ask for specific information about the Australian child. Communicative priority over victims is to family members (sic).
"Neither we were searching nor we have found (sic) any lost child in the Barcelona attack. All the victims and injured have been located".
More on this story to follow.
