Deloraine’s Myles Kirkman has been travelling Europe on the trip of a lifetime when terrorists used a van to plough into pedestrians in Barcelona's Las Ramblas tourist area.
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Mr Kirkman is working as an au pair in Barcelona and had been to the tourist hot spot many times, the most recent being three days prior to the attack.
“As soon as I found out the news I felt sick in the stomach and then sad for those who were affected,” he said.
“I would say that the mood at the moment is one of mourning but there is also this sense of unity and resilience.”
Mr Kirkman said the attack did not make him fearful to keep travelling because he knows that is exactly what the terrorists hoped to achieve.
“You can't let them get to you … [but] my thoughts go out to those affected by the terrorist attack here in Barcelona,” he said.
“I will be in Barcelona until the middle of next month. I will then see a bit more of Spain before travelling to Nepal and I will be back home in December.”
He made sure to contact his family in Tasmania before they heard about it on the morning news.
“Back home in Australia it was early in the morning when the attack happened … I told them that I was fine and not to worry about me,” Mr Kirkman said.
“If they had of heard about the attack before they heard from me then they would have been very worried.”
Meanwhile foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has confirmed four Australians have been hurt in the attack.
But hopes are fading for missing seven-year-old Australian boy Julian Cadman after Spanish authorities revealed they were not searching for any missing children.
Holly Monery
Holly Monery is a journalist for The Examiner newspaper, based in Launceston, Tasmania. Her main area of focus is local government.
Holly Monery is a journalist for The Examiner newspaper, based in Launceston, Tasmania. Her main area of focus is local government.
