Sara Zelenak confirmed as second Australian fatality

The heartbroken mother of Sara Zelenak has delivered the grim news about a second Australian death in London.

Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, left, and nanny Sara Zelenak.

Brisbane woman Sara Zelenak has been confirmed dead following the deadly terror attack in London.

The 21-year-old became separated from friends during the attack on London Bridge and the nearby Borough Market late on Saturday night local time.

Family, friends and her former Moreton Bay College school community were notified on Wednesday afternoon Ms Zelenak, who had been working in London as an au pair, was among the dead.

It came shortly after news South Australian woman Kirsty Boden, 28, who had been working as a nurse in London, had also died during the attack.

Her aunt, Tara, said the young woman’s mother Julie Wallace broke down when she learnt the news during her travels to the UK.

“Even though there was limbo for days, there was still a bit of hope,” she said via Facebook. “We are all so distraught to have lost our little Sara. She is the most beautiful, happy, positive young lady with so much to live for.

“Her heart and spirit will live on in all of us.”

Close friend Sam Hetherington said Ms Zelenak had brought “so much joy” into her life and said she couldn’t believe they wouldn’t be able to grow old together.

“Just Thursday I messaged you and you told me everything will always work out,” she wrote on Facebook.

Sara Zelenak’s death has been confirmed by her family. Picture: AAP

In a statement, Moreton Bay College also expressed “deep sadness” at news of the popular former student’s passing.

“This is the first time our college community has been touched by an act of terrorism and our hearts are broken by the loss of Sara,” a statement said. “Sara was a positive, popular student who always had a smile on her face. She embodied the values of Moreton Bay College and was adored by her peers and staff.” “This is how she will be forever remembered.”

The announcement made by Sara Zelenak’s mother. Picture: Supplied

An online fundraiser that had notched up its target of $15,000 for her family also confirmed her death and reopened the drive in a bid to continue to provide support.

It follows confirmation South Australian woman Kirsty Boden, 28, who had been working as a nurse in London, also died in the attack.

Four Australians were caught up in the van and knife attack which left seven innocent people dead and 48 injured before the three terrorists were shot dead by police.

A friend’s post, which paid tribute to a ‘gentle, beautiful soul’. Picture: Facebook

Two other Australians were confirmed injured but are recovering well. Prior to confirmation of her daughter’s death, Ms Zelenak’s mother told Brisbane radio station 97.3FM she and her husband had been looking forward to travelling to the UK to see their daughter.

“The last time I spoke to her was our time Friday afternoon at 4:42 and she said, ‘Oh mum! It’s only 28 days until you and I and dad can have baguettes and cheese and croissants in Paris. I’m so excited to go to Paris!’”

Ms Zelenak’s aunt gives a statement to the media.

Brave actions

The two were sweet in nature, sunny in outlook, and both are now dead, having responded heroically to an act of mindless Islamist terror on the streets of London.

Nurse Kirsty Boden, 28, of South Australia, raced to help the wounded as terrorists launched their attack on London Bridge.

Nanny Sara Zelenak, 21, of Brisbane, may have done the same as her friends say she initially moved towards danger rather than ­immediately run away. Ms Zelenak

The family of Ms Boden yesterday confirmed her death in a statement and the Australian government has this morning confirmed a second Australian died in the attack, but no names have been officially released.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he has also spoken with the family of Ms Zelenak.

“I am a father ... Kirsty or Sara could be one of my kids, it could be one of your kids,” he told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell.

“This is heart-rending, this is the last thing anybody expects to happen to their children when they are in London.”

Bitter fate placed them in danger

Each had been doing that quintessentially Australian thing — working abroad, in one of the caring professions — when bitter fate placed them in the path of three men hellbent on mayhem.

Now their lives — so full of promise — would seem to have been cut short, the method and manner beyond description.

Ms Boden’s family confirmed her death in a statement released by London’s Metropolitan Police last night. “Kirsty was loved and adored by her family, friends and boyfriend. She was the most outgoing, kind and generous person who loved to help people,” they said. “Helping people was what she loved to do in her job as a nurse and in her daily life.

“As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life. We are so proud of Kirsty’s brave actions which demonstrate how selfless, caring and heroic she was, not only on that night, but throughout all of her life. Kirsty — we love you and we will miss you dearly.”

The Zelenak family was waiting for official confirmation that Sara was one of the seven innocent people killed in the attack. Two members of the family left for London yesterday.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital last night paid tribute to Ms Boden, who worked in the theatres recovery ward, as a “one in a million” nurse who “always went the extra mile for the patients in her care”.

The process of identification of the victims has been agonisingly slow, in part because of the horrific ­nature of the attacks, with deaths attributed both to knives and to the van the terrorists were driving.

Last night only three victims had been identified, and even then only by their loved ones, not police. Others, such as Spaniard Ignacio Echeverria, 39, are presumed dead, after he leapt to defend an injured woman, taking on attackers with his skateboard.

Kirsty, originally from Loxton on the Murray River, wrote on a blog called the “time poor traveller’’. She described herself as having “big travel dreams’’ but also as someone who was realistic. She said she wasn’t a nomad, vagabond or wanderer. She loved a quick getaway and going somewhere “a bit different’’. For her the anticipation of the trip was as much fun as the trip itself. Reading about a pending adventure could extend the pleasure. “I’m just your average ­dreamer, with a full-time job and a constant longing to go where I haven’t been,’’ she wrote.

She said she liked to have at least four mini-trips a year and wrote of visits to Bordeaux, Brat­islava, Bremen, Basel, Nuremberg, Lisbon and Liverpool.

“My travel style is all about valuing my money, time and curiosity. I like to call it ‘wanderlust while wearing a watch’,” she said.

“Also, travel is good for you (like I needed more encouragement!). With a career in healthcare, I take a personal interest in the health and wellbeing benefits of travel. It is said to improve your mental health, reduce stress, ­decrease your risk of heart disease and make you overall a more tolerant person. Just because you are time-poor like me, doesn’t mean that you should be missing out on these wonderful benefits.’’

Kirsty graduated from Loxton High School and studied nursing at Flinders University. School friend Aiden Lipacis told The Australian: “It would have been Kirsty’s first instinct to help someone injured in the attacks. She’d help anyone out ... I went to primary school with her, she was a brilliant kid. I think she went to the UK for a holiday but she liked it that much she went and moved there.

“I’m shocked. You don’t expect someone to go overseas for work and get killed trying to help someone else as part of your job.”

It remained unclear last night whether Kirsty was attacked at London Bridge or during the rampage that followed in the Borough Market area.

Sara’s story was yesterday still unfolding online, and on the radio: reports suggest she went to Britain in March, to do that rite-of-passage thing: work in London, save up, and see the world. She found a job working as au pair for a British mum with two little boys, upon whom she doted, and just recently she met a new friend — also a nanny — called Pri Gonçalves, 26, on the tube. These two women headed out together on Saturday night, to have dinner, and then a drink. They were crossing London Bridge on foot when they heard what sounded like a car crash.

They turned back to see if they could help, but it seems the sound they heard was the Islamic terrorists crashing the rented white ­Renault van they had been driving, only to get out, to begin stabbing people. Ms Goncalves said she heard people shouting: “Run, run, run” — and they did, but she lost Sara in the melee.

“At that moment I got scared and desperate so I ran,” she said.

She began calling her friend immediately, with her first call going out at 10.09pm, which was just one minute after police received their first report of an incident. “I thought I was going to die, it was by far the most traumatising, shocking and scariest moment of my life,” Ms Goncalves said, but she could still hardly believe Sara had been caught in the attack, especially since Sara had dodged the Ariana Grande concert bombing in Manchester, a week before, having been unable to secure tickets.

The flame of hope burned through the night, but Sara’s habit was to call her Mum, Julie Wallace, most days, and no call has been made. Mum and daughter were due to see each other in Paris — City of Light — in four weeks. They had talked about how much cheese they were going to eat.

Her friends were crying out on Facebook for updates yesterday, with one saying: “My best mate Sara Zelenak hasn’t been in contact with her friends or family since terrorist attacks in London! If you or anyone is in London and sees this lovely face or knows any information on her whereabouts please message Julie Wallace or even myself to pass onto Julie so we know she is safe.”

Her Mum had been planning to leave for London yesterday, but British police advised her to wait in Australia for news. She told a Brisbane radio station she felt “absolute terror” when she received a phone call from Sara’s host family to say she’d given Sara the night off so she could go out with friends.

People known to have died in the attack include James McMullan, 32; Christine ­Archibald, 30, of Canada. Fears are held for and French chef Sebastien Belanger and countryman Xavier Thomas.

Additional reporting: Jacquelin Magnay