Five terror suspects shot dead in Cambrils, while earlier explosion at house in Alcanar is also linked to Las Ramblas attack
Theresa May said the UK “stands with Spain against terror” following the deadly attack in Barcelona.
The prime minister condemned the “terrible” assault, which follows a spate of similar attacks in London in recent months.
She said:
My thoughts are with the victims of today’s terrible attack in Barcelona and the emergency services responding to this ongoing incident. The UK stands with Spain against terror.
Thirteen people have been killed, and at least 50 injured, Catalonia’s interior minister Joaquim Forn has confirmed.
La meva més rotunda condemna a l'atemptat terrorista de Barcelona. Podem confirmar 13 morts i més de 50 ferits. @mossos @solercampins pic.twitter.com/va0IlQejb0
— Joaquim Forn (@quimforn) August 17, 2017
A man has been arrested in connection with the van attack, local police confirmed on Thursday evening.
In a tweet, the police also dismissed reports that a suspect had holed himself up in a bar off Las Ramblas.
No hi ha ningú atrinxerat a cap bar del centre de Barcelona. Hem detingut un home i ho tractem com atac terrorista #Barcelona #Rambles
— Mossos (@mossos) August 17, 2017
Witnesses in central Barcelona described a scene of “total chaos” in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
Patrick Tuenter, 20, a law student from Nijmegen, Netherlands, was on the first day of his holiday.
Our hotel, the Pension Solarium, is about 200metres from the scene of the crash. We were coming back from the beach and saw a scene of total chaos. People were screaming, there were a lot of wounded people. We saw a white van stopped in the middle of the street - the part where pedestrians walk down. It had driven right down the middle and thrown people onto the cobbled part of the street, down the sides.
Jesse Matenan, 20, also a student from Nijmegen described the rumours flying around the hotel as people try to work out what is happening.
As we walked back to our hotel we saw and heard ambulances and police cars rushing by – over 30 of them within minutes. We saw lots of injured people fleeing the scene. We’re now hearing rumours that there was a second van which got away and is driving round with two people in it.
Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, has tweeted about the attacks. He said he is doing all he can to identify whether any British people need help in Barcelona.
Concerned and saddened by #Barcelona attack. Our thoughts are with those affected. Doing all we can to identify whether Brits need help.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) August 17, 2017
The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for UK citizens in Barcelona, warning them to avoid the area.
“We are in contact with the Spanish authorities and seeking more information following an incident in Barcelona. Anyone in the area should follow the advice of the emergency services,” an FCO spokesperson said.
On the travel advice page for Spain on the FCO website, the updated advice says:
The British Embassy in Madrid and Consulate General in Barcelona are in contact with local authorities and urgently seeking further information following reports of an incident in central Barcelona.
Local authorities have advised people to stay inside and stay away from the Las Ramblas area of the city. If you’re in the immediate area you should take care and follow the advice of the local security authorities; press reports suggest that some public transport, particularly the metro, has been affected.
Donald Trump has condemned the terror attack on Las Ramblas:
The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help. Be tough & strong, we love you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017
The first lady has also sent a tweet:
Thoughts and prayers to #Barcelona
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) August 17, 2017
An eyewitness has described the painstaking search for suspects.
John Ward, who lives on Las Ramblas, says the area is still on lockdown.
He told the BBC:
There’s a very heavy police presence and what they’ve been doing is going from establishment to establishment knocking on the doors, knocking on the shutters.
People have opened the shutters, they’ve been brought out on to the street and once it’s been established that they’re not the people they are looking for, they’ve been escorted away from this particular area.
Now nobody is moving on La Ramblas unless they’re under police escort.
Local media is reporting that one person has been arrested in relation to the attack.
Separate reports said the Guardia Civil have identified the suspect thought to have hired the white Fiat van used in the attack. According to those reports, he is understood to be from north Africa but to possess an NIE, the identity document issued to foreigners who are resident in Spain.
It is not clear whether the reports referred to the same person.
A second van linked to the attack – assumed to have been used as a getaway car – has been found in the small town of Vic in Catalonia.
Here’s another shot of the crashed van, taken from a video posted online.
The official death toll for the van attack still stands at one, although local media are reporting that as many as 13 could be dead. Police say 32 people have been injured, 10 of them seriously.
Catalonia’s interior minister Joaquim Forn told reporters: “Unfortunately the number of fatalities will likely rise.”
