This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2017/aug/17/barcelona-attack-van-driven-into-crowd-in-las-ramblas-district

The article has changed 25 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Barcelona attack: multiple deaths reported after van hits Las Ramblas crowds – latest updates Barcelona attack: 13 confirmed dead after van hits Las Ramblas crowds – latest updates
(35 minutes later)
7.37pm BST
19:37
Police release image of suspect
Spanish national police have released a photograph of the man alleged to have rented the van used in the attack. He is identified as Driss Oukabir.
It is not clear if it is the same person who has been arrested in Vic.
7.31pm BST
19:31
Maeve Shearlaw
Facebook has activated its safety check tool to enable people in Barcelona to let their friends and relatives know that they are safe.
Facebook has activated Safetycheck 4 users that are in #BCN, so you can inform friends & family that you are wellhttps://t.co/rzji0W3BYt
Over 1000 people have also used the service to offer help to the victims, with offers ranging from water to shelter and translation.
Updated
at 7.32pm BST
7.29pm BST
19:29
Theresa May sends condolences to Spain
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.
7.26pm BST
19:26
Official death toll is now 13
13 people have been killed, and at least 50 have been 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
7.19pm BST
19:19
Catalan police confirm arrest
Sam Jones
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
7.17pm BST
19:17
Joseph Harker
Eyewitnesses 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.
7.13pm BST
19:13
Jessica Elgot
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.
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.
Updated
at 7.22pm BST
7.07pm BST
19:07
Donald Trump condemns the terror attack
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!
The first lady has also sent a tweet:
Thoughts and prayers to #Barcelona
Updated
at 7.12pm BST
7.04pm BST
19:04
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.
Updated
at 7.11pm BST
7.01pm BST7.01pm BST
19:0119:01
Reports of arrest and identification of suspectReports of arrest and identification of suspect
Alex Olorenshaw
Local media is reporting that one person has been arrested in relation to the attack.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 a NIE, the identity document issued to foreigners who are resident in Spain. 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.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 getaway car – has been found in the small town of Vic in Catalonia. 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.
Updated
at 7.05pm BST
6.59pm BST6.59pm BST
18:5918:59
Here’s another shot of the crashed van, taken from a video posted online.Here’s another shot of the crashed van, taken from a video posted online.
6.56pm BST6.56pm BST
18:5618:56
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.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.”Catalonia’s interior minister Joaquim Forn told reporters: “Unfortunately the number of fatalities will likely rise.”
UpdatedUpdated
at 6.59pm BSTat 6.59pm BST
6.54pm BST
18:54
One suspect arrested, according to Spanish broadcaster
Spanish public broadcaster RTVE says one suspect in the Barcelona van attack has been arrested.
Updated
at 6.58pm BST
6.47pm BST
18:47
The US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has offered his condolences for the loss of life in Barcelona. He also warned terrorists they would be brought to justice in the wake of the Las Ramblas attack.
Terrorists around the world should know, the United States and our allies are resolved to find you and bring you to justice.
Tillerson, who was speaking at a press conference, also urged US nationals in the city to check in with their families.
Updated
at 6.52pm BST
6.36pm BST
18:36
The attack took place in central Barcelona. Las Ramblas, a street of stalls and shops that cuts through the centre of Barcelona, is one of the city’s top tourist destinations. People walk down a wide, pedestrianised path in the centre of the street, but cars can travel on either side.
Updated
at 6.37pm BST
6.34pm BST
18:34
Carmen Fishwick
A video posted to social media shows more than 12 injured people lying on the ground next to souvenir shops in front of Maccabi restaurant in Las Ramblas.
As well as uniformed emergency service personnel, a number of people dressed casually in shorts and t-shirts can be seen offering help and tending to the wounded.
Updated
at 6.38pm BST
6.33pm BST
18:33
Martin Belam
Despite an appeal by Spanish police not to circulate images of those injured in the attack, there have been some graphic videos and images posted to social media this evening, as well as video that appears to depict the movements of armed police as they search for suspects.
Residents of Barcelona, and social media users from further afield, have tried to combat the spread of these images with a seemingly bizarre tactic - flooding the #barcelona hashtag with images of cute kittens.
It was a tactic employed by Belgian social media users in 2015. Police there asked citizens not to tweet about armed counter-terror operations being carried out around the country, and told people to stay indoors and not go near windows. Belgians reacted by using the #BrusselsLockdown hashtag to share pictures of their pets and make jokes.
Social media reactions like this can often seem glib and superficial in the face of the events that have sparked them, but academics have argued that they can play a role in dealing with collective national trauma.
Updated
at 6.35pm BST
6.31pm BST
18:31
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has tweeted his condolences.
He said: “My thoughts are with the victims of this barbaric terrorist attack in the great city of Barcelona and with their brave emergency services.”
He added that London stands with Barcelona.
London stands with Barcelona against the evil of terrorism.
6.28pm BST
18:28
Witnesses to the attack in Barcelona described how a white van hurtled through crowds without slowing down.
Many were forced to take shelter in nearby shops and hotels, while others reported hearing gunshots.
Tom Gueller, who lives on a road adjoining the site of the attack, was forced to flee when the vehicle began hitting pedestrians.
He told BBC’s PM:
I heard screams and a bit of a crash and then I just saw the crowd parting and this van going full pelt down the middle of the Ramblas, and I immediately knew that it was a terrorist attack or something like that. I ran away, I mean I live near, I had to run back about 50 metres or so and go up to my flat and obviously see what’s happening on the road from my balcony.
Asked about the van, he said: “It wasn’t slowing down at all. It was just going straight through the middle of the crowds in the middle of Las Ramblas.”
Will Ako, 26, from London, was eating in a restaurant called Taller De Tapas with his family when they heard a disturbance.
He told Press Association:
We had just finished eating and were about to leave when we heard a commotion and the patrons in the restaurant rushing from their seats. I then saw people running to the east of the restaurant and I saw a couple of people, about 30 yards down the road, crouching around what looked like someone on the ground and they were calling for assistance. Within a couple of minutes, police started to arrive and they were running west of the restaurant and some were telling us to stay inside. Soon after, loads of cars, bikes and ambulances arrived and then the armed police.
He said he was in the restaurant with around 40 people, adding: “We’re not sure what’s happening.”
Updated
at 6.50pm BST
6.17pm BST
18:17
Vikram Dodd
For now we don’t know who was responsible for the attack, nor what the motive was.
However, we do know that the use of vehicles to drive into civilians is a mode of attack hugely difficult to stop.
Atrocities involving vehicle attacks have been carried out in France, Germany and Britain. Such vehicle attacks generally require very little planning, and no wider network, leaving little or no opportunity for the authorities to detect and stop them.
Las Ramblas was full of people, is largely or wholly open, with few obstacles to block the path of any vehicle.
Options to make a vehicle attack harder include making renting vehicles harder and placing barriers to limit how far an attacker could drive as they mow civilians down.
Updated
at 6.28pm BST
6.13pm BST
18:13
Police press conference: one dead and 32 injured
Police have confirmed that one person has died and that 32 people have been injured, 10 of them seriously.
En aquests moments es confirma una víctima mortal i 32 ferits, dels quals 10 greus#Barcelona
There has been some confusion, as is typical in these situations, about the number of fatalities. Local media outlets are reporting that 13 have died, citing police sources. Other media, including El Pais, are saying there were at least 10 deaths.
Updated
at 6.14pm BST
6.05pm BST
18:05
Sam Jones
In a tweet, Catalan police confirmed they were dealing with a terrorist attack.
“Terrorist attack confirmed,” they said. “The terrorist attack protocol has been activated.”
Es confirma atemptat terrorista. S'ha activat el protocol d'atemptat terrorista