London attack: Spaniard Ignacio Echeverría confirmed dead

Ignacio Echeverría from Madrid had been working for HSBC in London

The family of Ignacio Echeverría, who went to help a woman as she was stabbed by the attackers at London's Borough Market, has announced his death.

He was last seen trying to defend the woman with his skateboard.

After several days waiting for information, his brother and two sisters said he was dead.

"We want to see and be with Ignacio's body," his sister Ana said. "It seems we won't be able to be with his body before Friday at the earliest."

His other sister, Isabel, went on social media to praise his heroism and said he would never be forgotten.

"My brother Ignacio tried to stop the terrorists and lost his life trying to save others," she said.

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As the number of people killed by the attackers on 3 June rose to eight, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy praised the Spanish victim's "heroic and exemplary act" and said he had recommended that he be awarded posthumously an order of civil merit.

The foreign ministry in Madrid said he was a model of solidarity for everyone. "His bravery in standing up for a defenceless person is a reminder of the need to remain united in the face of the scourge of terrorism."

Ignacio Echeverría was hailed a hero by the Spanish prime minister

For days, the family heard nothing of Ignacio Echeverría's fate. Spain's Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido described the identification process as strange and "inhumane" for the family.

Aged 39 and from Madrid, Ignacio Echeverría had been working for HSBC in London as part of the bank's team fighting money laundering.

As the three London Bridge attackers went on the rampage, his family said he was returning from an evening of skateboarding in a nearby park with friends.

He jumped off his bike and used his skateboard to hit one of the attackers who was stabbing a woman. The two others then attacked him from behind and he was last seen lying on the ground, the family said.