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 morgue.

Julian Cadman was separated from his mother Jumarie when a terrorist rammed a van into pedestrians on Las Ramblas killing 13 on Thursday.

His father Andrew, a 42-year-old cabinet maker, was reportedly taken to the forensic institute, which includes a mortuary, when he arrived from his home in Sydney, Australia.

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.'

Hopes faded for a seven-year-old British boy (right with his mother) lost in the Barcelona terror attack when his father arrived in the city this evening and was taken to a forensic centre. Pictured left: A friend or relative being escorted by police to the forensic institute

Hopes fade: Julian Cadman was separated from his mother Jumarie when a van rammed into pedestrians on Las Ramblas killing 13 on Thursday

Police on Sunday said Julian has still not been formally identified.

A spokesman for the Mossos d'Esquadra police force said: 'There has not yet been a legally valid identification.

'We are scrupulously following the protocol of the National Court in Madrid which is overseeing the investigation.

'Our primary concern is giving full and proper support to the victims and their families.'

Mrs Cadman - who is from the Philippines and known as Jom - is recovering in hospital with broken legs. She is pictured with her son

The spokesman said they are still working to identify bodies and living victims following last Thursday's massacre.

The force would not comment on whether Julian was believed to be alive or dead.

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.

Julian is believed to have been wearing a white collared shirt, aviator sunglasses and a printed cap when he was last seen just hours before the shocking terror attack

The aftermath of the Las Ramblas attack is seen in an aerial view for the first time in this exclusive picture, taken by Briton John Ward from his balcony, just minutes after the terror atrocity. The picture shows: (1) An injured pedestrian being attended to. (2) A body amid the scattered papers of a news-stand. (3) A casualty wrapped in an emergency foil blanket. (4) Medics tending a badly injured person next to the clearly damaged terrorists' van. (5) Another covered body; (6) A victim caught up in the horror

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'.

The youngster became separated from his mother during the attack. She is now in a serious condition in a Barcelona hospital, suffering serious injuries

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.'

Social media appeals for information on the youngster were taken down yesterday

'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.

Mourners pay respects at a memorial tribute of flowers, messages and candles to the victims on Barcelona's historic Las Ramblas promenade

Mourners light candles at a memorial tribute of flowers, messages and candles to the victims

A scene on Las Ramblas two days after the horrific terror attack which killed 13 on Thursday

Tributes: Police immediately cordoned off the city's broad avenue and ordered stores and nearby Metro and train stations to close after the attack

This is the van that the jihadi drove into the pedestrians on Las Ramblas killing 13

'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.

MASSIVE MANHUNT FOR MURDEROUS WHITE Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22 A massive manhunt was under way across Europe last night for the man suspected of driving the white van that killed 13 and injured more than 130 people in the Barcelona attack. Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, is thought to be the only member still on the run of a 12-strong Islamic State cell believed to be behind the attacks at Las Ramblas and Cambrils. Officers have released a mugshot of him. Josep Lluis Trapero, chief of the Mossos d'Esquadra police force in Barcelona, said they did not believe the driver of the van had linked up with the rest of the cell in Cambrils after the massacre. La Vanguardia newspaper reported that he may have slipped into the Liceu station, then taken the Metro to Maria Cristina. Detectives are investigating whether Abouyaaqoub carjacked driver Pau Perez, fatally stabbed him, and then stole his Ford Focus. The car was driven through a police checkpoint at Sant Just Desvern on Thursday evening, injuring a sergeant. Officers opened fire on the vehicle, and Perez's body was found inside. Abouyaaqoub is believed to have fled on foot. Moroccan Abouyaaqoub lives in the town of Ripoll, 65 miles north of Barcelona where Moussa Oukabir, who was shot by police in Cambrils, also lived. Advertisement

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.'

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.

Julian's aunty Norma Canaveral, who he calls 'granny', says she is just waiting for news on the whereabouts of the seven-year-old

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said 13 people were killed in the attack and at least 100 injured

MFB Commander Graeme O'Sullivan was one of the first responders at Melbourne's Bourke Street 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.

Forensic policemen arrive in the cordoned off area after a van plowed into the crowd

The attack in the northeastern Spanish city was the country's deadliest since 2004, when al-Qaeda-inspired bombers killed 192 people in coordinated 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 revelers 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 truck to drive into a Christmas market in Berlin.

There have been multiple attacks this year in London, where a man in a rented SUV plowed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four people before he ran onto the grounds of Parliament and stabbed an unarmed police officer to death in March.

Four other men drove onto the sidewalk of London Bridge, unleashing a rampage with knives that killed eight people in June.

Another man also drove into pedestrians leaving a north London mosque later in June.