- .Ross Langdon, an Australian London-based architect, and his heavily pregnant partner Elif Yavuz were gunned down by terrorists
- .Ms Yavus, a Harvard graduate, was eight and a half months pregnant
- .62 people slaughtered by terrorists believed to be Somali Islamists
- .British man's four relatives slain in horrific attack on Westgate mall
By ANNA EDWARDS
A British architect and his heavily pregnant girlfriend were shot dead by Muslim terrorists in the Kenyan mall massacre just days before she was due to give birth.
Ross Langdon, who has dual Australian nationality, and scientist Elif Yavuz were gunned down as they stood side-by-side in a cafe at the Westgate Shopping Centre, in Nairobi.
In his last moments, the 33-year-old appears to have tried to protect the woman who was to have their first child in just two weeks.
They were found curled together, Mr Langdon's arms wrapped protectively around Miss Yavuz.
Prize-winning British-Australian architect Ross Langdon, and his Harvard-educated pregnant partner, Elif Yavuz, were killed in the Nairobi shopping centre siege
The malaria-specialist is pictured here meeting former US president Bill Clinton in a photo
Elif, who was due to give birth in a fortnight, was killed alongside Mr Langdon, a prize winning architect who had joint British and Australian nationality
Mr Langdon had been involved with a number of projects across Africa, which included designing an HIV-Aids hospital in Kenya free of charge.
The London-based architect could be seen photographed with Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, in a picture posted on his Facebook profile earlier this year.
Mr Langdon, who studied architecture at the University of Tasmania then the University of Sydney, worked for several companies before founding his own firm Regional Associates Ltd in May 2008.
Born and brought up in south-eastern Tasmania, his work included projects in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.
Harvard graduate Ms Yavuz was eight-and-a-half months pregnant at the time of her death.
The malaria specialist was working in Kenya for the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, which was founded by the former U.S president.
The malaria specialist (left) was working in Kenya for the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation run by the billionaire Microsoft founder, while Mr Langdon had been involved with a number of projects across Africa
On her Facebook profile she was photographer shaking hands with former US President Bill Clinton during a visit to a Clinton Foundation project last month.
Born in Holland, Ms Yavuz had lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while studying at the renowned Harvard University.
Esther Waters-Crane, a British expat who was an acquaintance of Elif's, described her grief at losing the expectant mother, and how Kenya has reacted to the unprovoked attack.
She said: 'I’m so, so sad about Elif. We had been in regular contact about her birth her in Nairobi and
I feel sick/angry/furious/shocked by this tragic, tragic waste of lovely people.
'Nairobi is awash with helicopters right now.
'Nairobi is awash with helicopters right now.
'I'm at home and the explosions from Westgate are so loud they sound like they're on my road.
'We're all in pieces about this- a very very sad time for Nairobi and for dear Kenya.'
The couple are among the 62 people slaughtered by terrorists believed to be from Somali Islamist group al'Shabaab
The architect's mother told of the 'excruciating loss' she was suffering.
In a message on Facebook, Mrs Linden Langdon said the loss of her son Ross was immeasurable.
Mr Langdon's family has asked for privacy as they grieve over his death, that of his partner Elif Yavuz and their unborn child - but his mother decided to put a few words out on social media to tell the world of the grief his relatives were suffering.
'We have lost my beautiful son Ross Langdon, his lovely partner Elif Yavuz and their much loved baby just two weeks away from birth,' Mrs Langdon wrote on her son's Facebook page.
'The loss is immeasurable, absurd and excruciating.'
Today the architectural practice where he worked as a director said in a statement: 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss our friend and colleague Ross Langdon and his partner Elif Yavuz.
'Profoundly talented and full of life, Ross enriched the lives of all those around him.
'Ross's leadership on projects throughout East-Africa was inspirational.
Mrs Linden Langdon said the loss of her son Ross and his lovely partner Elif was 'immeasurable'
'Ross was living his dream, greatly contributing to the lives of people within highly disadvantaged communities and supporting habitat conservation for some of the world's most threatened species.
'Ross will be very, very sorely missed. Our deepest condolences and thoughts are with Ross and Elif's families at this very difficult time.'
Mr Langdon last year gave a talk at TEDxKrakow in Poland. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, under the slogan 'ideas worth spreading'.
On a blog for TEDxKrakow, which calls itself an independently organised TED event, tributes were paid to the architect.
The site said: 'It was with great sadness that we learnt of the tragic murder of Ross Langdon and his wife Elif Yavuz in the terrorist attacks in Nairobi on Saturday. They were expecting their first baby in a couple of weeks.
'Ross spoke at TEDxKrakow in 2012 about his work as an architect in Africa. He devoted his life to creating sustainable architecture that is integrated into communities, and he left us with hope for humanity.
'It's impossible to make sense of this senseless and shocking loss of life. We send our condolences to both their families.'
Military forces take position inside a shopping mall following the attack by masked gunmen in Nairobi
Sporadic gun shots could be heard hours after the assault started as soldiers surrounded the mall and police and soldiers combed the building
People help a wounded man outside the Westgate shopping mall, as 69 people were slaughtered by the terrorists
Tributes to the couple have flooded in via social media.
One friend, Arah Nekoei, wrote: 'We will miss you, Elif Yavuz, Ross Langdon and the one that we never got to know.'
A British businessman has revealed that four members of his family were killed in the Nairobi terror attack.
Samir Bharma, from Spinney Hills, Leicester, was last making arrangements to fly to the Kenyan capital.
It is understood his relatives who were killed were taking part in a recording of a television programme called Masterchef Junior.
He said of his dead family members: 'They were young people who were taking part in a cookery contest that was taking place in the centre. Unfortunately they have all passed away.
'An aunt - my dad's cousin - she's critical in hospital. I've spoken to my father who is there, but contact is difficult.
'It's a very difficult time and I'm trying to arrange flights now.'
Another Leicester man described how his parents and brother and sister were in the shopping mall when the terrorists struck.
Smoke rises from the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi following a string of explosions during the third day of a stand-off between Kenyan security forces and gunmen inside the building
Volunteers run for cover after hearing a volley of gunshots at the scene of the siege
The man, in his 20s, wishes to remain anonymous after his mother warned him that terrorists had hacked into Facebook accounts of Nairobi residents and left the chilling warning 'we are watching you'.
He said his mother had called him from outside the mall: 'She was just passing by in the upper mall.
The whole thing was taking place on the ground floor and she just saw gunmen wandering around everywhere and shooting people. She saw her best friend being shot straight in the head.
'My sister just froze to the spot. My brother dragged my sister out into the parking lot.. At that point the parking lot was secure and people could leave.
'My brother saw his best friend's body outside. He had literally been shot.'
The man said his parents had gone to the hospital to help medical staff cope with the casualties.
Islamic terrorists who have been barricaded in a Kenyan shopping mall today threatened to kill all their remaining hostages as special forces moved in to end the two day siege.
Witnesses said they heard this morning multiple large explosions within the vast Westgate Shopping Centre in Nairobi and there were reports of gunfire in the streets outside.
Thick black smoke was then seen billowing from the mall.
The Foreign Office confirmed today that four Britons have now been killed in the atrocity.
Kenyan troops have moved in to end the siege but spokesman for terror group Al Shabaab Ali Mohamud Rage said in a statement posted on an Islamist website that those held inside will 'bear the brunt of any force' used by soldiers against the militants.
The statement read: 'We authorise the mujahedeen inside the building to take actions against the prisoners as much as they are pressed.
'We are telling Christians advancing onto the mujahedeen to have mercy for their prisoners who will bear the brunt of any force directed against the mujahedeen.'
The Al-Qaeda linked group claimed to be in contact with the fighters inside the mall and said the gunmen were battling both Kenyan and Israeli forces.
HOW THE ATTACKERS TARGETED VICTIMS FROM AROUND THE WORLD - INCLUDING POETS, CHILDREN, PARENTS AND DIPLOMATS
BRITAIN/ AUSTRALIA
Ross Langdon was an architect who worked in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, creating eco-lodges and socially sustainable tourism in ecologically sensitive locations.
THE NETHERLANDS
Langdon's partner, Elif Yavuz, 33, was expecting their first child in early October.
A 2013 graduate of Harvard University's Department of Global Health and Population, she had completed her dissertation research on malaria in eastern Africa and was working with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the university said in a note to faculty, staff and students.
PERU
Juan Ortiz-Iruri was a retired tropical disease specialist for UNICEF who had lived 25 years in Africa, according to UNICEF and Peruvian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alejandro Neyra. His son Ricardo Ortiz told Radio RPP that he entered the mall accompanied by his daughter, a 13-year-old born in the U.S.'The version from my sister is that sadly my father fell to the floor and showed no signs of life,' Ortiz said. He said his sister suffered a hand injury, but is out of danger. Ortiz-Iruri had worked in Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Liberia.
GHANA
Kofi Awoonor, a Ghanaian poet, professor and former ambassador to Brazil, Cuba and the United Nations, died after being wounded in the attack, Ghana's presidential office confirmed. Ghana's ministry of information said Awoonor's son was injured and is responding to treatment. Awoonor's work drew its inspiration from the traditions of his native Ewe tribe.
UKNOWN NATIONALITY
Ruhila Adatia-Sood, whose husband was a foreign worker for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Nairobi was killed, the organization said in a press statement. She was a popular radio and TV personality in Kenya and tributes poured in for her on Twitter and Facebook.
KENYA
President Uhuru Kenyatta's nephew and nephew's fiancee are among the dead.
INDIA
Two Indians, 8-year-old Parmashu Jain and 40-year-old Sridhar Natarajan, were killed, and four others were wounded in the attack, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman said.
CANADA
Two Canadians, including a diplomat, died in the attack, according to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He paid tribute to the victims and noted the loss of diplomat Annemarie Desloges, who served in Canada's High Commission to Kenya as a liaison officer with the Canada Border Services Agency. Her spouse Robert Munk was wounded in the attack, but has since been released from the hospital, the Canadian Press reported.
SWITZERLAND
The Swiss government confirmed that one of its citizens was injured in the attack. It said its embassy in Nairobi is in contact with the victim's family and local officials, but would not provide further detail on the victim's name.
BRITAIN
At least four U.K. nationals were killed in the attack, according to the Foreign Office, which warned the number of such fatalities is 'likely to rise as further information becomes available.'
FRANCE
Two French women were killed, President Francois Hollande said.
SOUTH AFRICA
One South African citizen was killed, according to the country's International Relations Department.
CHINA
A 38-year-old Chinese woman with the surname Zhou who worked in the real estate industry was killed in the attack, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. Her son was injured in the attack and was in stable condition in a hospital, according to the Chinese Embassy in Kenya.
U.S.
Five American citizens were injured, U.S. officials said.
NEW ZEALAND
Andrew McLaren, 34, a New Zealander who managed a factory in Kenya for the avocado oil company Olivado, was wounded in the attack, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed. He was hospitalized in stable condition.
Ross Langdon was an architect who worked in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, creating eco-lodges and socially sustainable tourism in ecologically sensitive locations.
THE NETHERLANDS
Langdon's partner, Elif Yavuz, 33, was expecting their first child in early October.
A 2013 graduate of Harvard University's Department of Global Health and Population, she had completed her dissertation research on malaria in eastern Africa and was working with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the university said in a note to faculty, staff and students.
PERU
Juan Ortiz-Iruri was a retired tropical disease specialist for UNICEF who had lived 25 years in Africa, according to UNICEF and Peruvian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alejandro Neyra. His son Ricardo Ortiz told Radio RPP that he entered the mall accompanied by his daughter, a 13-year-old born in the U.S.'The version from my sister is that sadly my father fell to the floor and showed no signs of life,' Ortiz said. He said his sister suffered a hand injury, but is out of danger. Ortiz-Iruri had worked in Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Liberia.
GHANA
Kofi Awoonor, a Ghanaian poet, professor and former ambassador to Brazil, Cuba and the United Nations, died after being wounded in the attack, Ghana's presidential office confirmed. Ghana's ministry of information said Awoonor's son was injured and is responding to treatment. Awoonor's work drew its inspiration from the traditions of his native Ewe tribe.
UKNOWN NATIONALITY
Ruhila Adatia-Sood, whose husband was a foreign worker for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Nairobi was killed, the organization said in a press statement. She was a popular radio and TV personality in Kenya and tributes poured in for her on Twitter and Facebook.
KENYA
President Uhuru Kenyatta's nephew and nephew's fiancee are among the dead.
INDIA
Two Indians, 8-year-old Parmashu Jain and 40-year-old Sridhar Natarajan, were killed, and four others were wounded in the attack, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman said.
CANADA
Two Canadians, including a diplomat, died in the attack, according to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He paid tribute to the victims and noted the loss of diplomat Annemarie Desloges, who served in Canada's High Commission to Kenya as a liaison officer with the Canada Border Services Agency. Her spouse Robert Munk was wounded in the attack, but has since been released from the hospital, the Canadian Press reported.
SWITZERLAND
The Swiss government confirmed that one of its citizens was injured in the attack. It said its embassy in Nairobi is in contact with the victim's family and local officials, but would not provide further detail on the victim's name.
BRITAIN
At least four U.K. nationals were killed in the attack, according to the Foreign Office, which warned the number of such fatalities is 'likely to rise as further information becomes available.'
FRANCE
Two French women were killed, President Francois Hollande said.
SOUTH AFRICA
One South African citizen was killed, according to the country's International Relations Department.
CHINA
A 38-year-old Chinese woman with the surname Zhou who worked in the real estate industry was killed in the attack, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. Her son was injured in the attack and was in stable condition in a hospital, according to the Chinese Embassy in Kenya.
U.S.
Five American citizens were injured, U.S. officials said.
NEW ZEALAND
Andrew McLaren, 34, a New Zealander who managed a factory in Kenya for the avocado oil company Olivado, was wounded in the attack, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed. He was hospitalized in stable condition.
No comments:
Post a Comment