New York attack: five Argentinian friends on visit to US among the dead

Five of the eight people killed in a truck attack in New York yesterday were friends visiting the US from Argentina, the country’s foreign ministry confirmed.

The five Argentinian men who died were part of a larger group of nine who were visiting New York to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation, The Guardian reported. A sixth friend, Martin Ludovico Marro, is still hospitalised and recovering from his injuries.

All the men hail from the city of Rosario, where three days of mourning have been declared. The men were identified as Hernan Diego Mendoza, Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damian Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernan Ferruchi. All were aged 48 or 49.

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Erlij, the owner of a steel company, paid for some of his friends’ flights to New York for the celebration. The group rented bicycles and were walking in downtown Manhattan when they were struck by the vehicle. The friends who survived are “devastated, they are still in shock because they cannot believe that this happened,” Consul General of Argentina to the UN, Mateo Estreme told the New York Post.

“The consulate general continues working in permanent contact with the police authorities and the hospital that received the affected, as well as with the relatives in Argentina,” a statement from the Argentinian government read. “We accompany the families in this terrible moment of deep pain, which all Argentines share.”

Hernan Funes, a journalist from Rosario, shared a photo of some of the victims.

Didier Reynders, Belgium’s deputy PM, said a Belgian woman was also killed in the attack. Ann-Laure Decadt, a 31-year-old mother of a two-month old and a three-year old, was on a trip with her mother and sisters when she was killed, The Daily Mail says.

Reynders expressed his condolences to the family on Twitter.

29-year-old Uzbekistan national Sayfullo Saipov was identified by police as the motorist who drove a pick up truck into a crowded bike path near the 9/11 memorial in Manhattan. He crashed into pedestrians and a school bus, killing eight people and injuring 11, including two students and two adults on the school bus. Saipov was shot and injured by police after exiting his vehicle and proclaiming “Allahu akbar” or “God is great,” The BBC says.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told CBS a note was found inside the truck showing support for Islamic State.