Barcelona Attack

:00:11. > :00:15.Hello, you are watching special coverage here on BBC News. Let's go

:00:16. > :00:19.back to that breaking news in Barcelona, where police say they are

:00:20. > :00:23.dealing with a terror attack after a vehicle ploughed into a crowded

:00:24. > :00:29.pedestrians in the busy Las Ramblas area. Some local media reporting

:00:30. > :00:36.that 13 people have died. Spanish police are treating it as a

:00:37. > :00:39.terrorist attack. Police sources are reporting that number of 13 dead to

:00:40. > :00:46.Reuters News Agency. Another critical line in the last little

:00:47. > :00:51.while, police sources are also talking about them searching for two

:00:52. > :01:01.perpetrators and there are reports of at least one person, in a cafe,

:01:02. > :01:06.hold-up. It is thought they could be hostages in that situation. Those

:01:07. > :01:09.are the latest details. That is what they are currently dealing with in

:01:10. > :01:19.Barcelona. A huge police operation. This is the van where it came to

:01:20. > :01:27.rest. Finally, after going at high speed down the road. Going onto the

:01:28. > :01:32.pavement. This is the street, you can see from those pictures how

:01:33. > :01:38.narrow and busy it is. These are the immediate moments after the van went

:01:39. > :01:42.down the street. A short while ago, a witness said that the van went

:01:43. > :01:47.past him and instantly, he knew from its speed, that there was something

:01:48. > :01:55.wrong. He heard banging as it rode onto the pavement and it hits

:01:56. > :01:59.stores. These are pictures from inside of shops as people ran for

:02:00. > :02:03.safety and were ushered away. Hundreds of people were there in the

:02:04. > :02:07.street. It was very busy at the time, lots of reports saying that

:02:08. > :02:14.the streets were thronged with people. You can see in those

:02:15. > :02:21.pictures people running outside as people try to rush away from where

:02:22. > :02:32.the van had hit people. Dozens of people are reported to have been hit

:02:33. > :02:37.by the van. Police are now saying that 15 people have now died but

:02:38. > :02:48.there are reports of 20-25 injured, also, by the van. Tom Wheeler lives

:02:49. > :02:53.near where the attack took place, he told me what it was like in the

:02:54. > :03:03.moments as the van went past him. Let's hear again what he had to say.

:03:04. > :03:09.I left my flat, and was walking to Las Ramblas to go to the Metro

:03:10. > :03:13.station. I was 15 or 20 metres from the end of my road and I heard

:03:14. > :03:23.screaming Festival. Then, a couple of crashes. -- first of all. It

:03:24. > :03:30.mounted the pavement and knocked over all kinds of stores, and that

:03:31. > :03:36.is when I saw the crowds parting as there was a massive throng of people

:03:37. > :03:39.along Las Ramblas itself. The crowds were parting and that is when I saw

:03:40. > :03:46.the van going at full speed down the middle of Las Ramblas. When I saw

:03:47. > :03:53.that it was not slowing down, I realise that there was something

:03:54. > :04:00.very, very wrong. So you actually saw the van itself travelling at

:04:01. > :04:09.speed? Yeah, yeah. How fast was it going? I would guess 50 mph but it

:04:10. > :04:15.is hard to tell. It was going fast. In such a tight street it must have

:04:16. > :04:20.felt magnified, you must have known there was something wrong? As soon

:04:21. > :04:27.as I saw the velocity of it, I thought, this is an attack. It isn't

:04:28. > :04:47.just a slightly out-of-control van. As I ran back to my flat, 50 metres

:04:48. > :04:51.away, it was traumatic. I ran into the shops, people were running into

:04:52. > :04:57.shops and bars, shutters were coming down. The police cordoned off the

:04:58. > :05:03.road entirely. And how busy was it in the streets before the attack? It

:05:04. > :05:07.is packed, it is always packed. Some are in Barcelona is the ultimate

:05:08. > :05:11.tourist attraction. It is difficult walking out pace down Las Ramblas

:05:12. > :05:30.because there is always people around, it is so busy. It is

:05:31. > :05:38.strange, five or ten minutes after, I heard another Big Bang. I don't

:05:39. > :05:45.know what it was, I did not know whether it was a bomb or something

:05:46. > :05:48.like that. There were more screens, it could have easily been someone

:05:49. > :05:54.putting down their shutters forcefully but there was another

:05:55. > :05:58.bang. There were a few people who started running away again. Right

:05:59. > :06:05.now, my road is completely cordoned off. You know, it is such a densely

:06:06. > :06:13.populated street in terms of the amount of people along Las Ramblas,

:06:14. > :06:18.in the space of 20 metres. At pace, you could easily hit 30 people.

:06:19. > :06:29.People were running out of the way, you heard screaming, and... There

:06:30. > :06:33.was not time for people to get out of the way because of the velocity.

:06:34. > :06:39.Did you say you were back in your flat? What is clear is that Catalan

:06:40. > :06:41.police, I reading this from my screen here, Reuters News Agency

:06:42. > :06:49.reporting that they are still looking for the driver of the van.

:06:50. > :06:54.Is it clear looking from your window this operation is still ongoing?

:06:55. > :06:59.Absolutely, armed police are stationed on my road right now.

:07:00. > :07:02.There are helicopters above. It makes sense that there is still

:07:03. > :07:08.someone out as nobody is allowed anywhere right now. There are police

:07:09. > :07:14.on the cord. All of the shops have their shutters down. I can see where

:07:15. > :07:23.the cord and is at the end of my road. There are people gathered

:07:24. > :07:27.there. -- cordon. It's one of those things, you never think that it will

:07:28. > :07:32.happen to you, it's a mean that you will never see. Especially in

:07:33. > :07:36.Barcelona. I don't know. When I moved here, I thought, at least you

:07:37. > :07:46.do not have terrorism in Spain. Other then ETA, it is such a happy

:07:47. > :07:52.place here, Barcelona, and for this kind of thing to happen, it

:07:53. > :07:57.contrasts with what it stands for, you know? Our corresponded Richard

:07:58. > :08:02.Galpin is monitoring several sources and every strand of information

:08:03. > :08:06.coming in. What can you tell us? Spanish media are reporting, we do

:08:07. > :08:08.not have confirmation, that 13 people have been killed and a

:08:09. > :08:15.significant number of people injured. We do not have direct

:08:16. > :08:19.confirmation of that so far. What we do know is that the van ploughed

:08:20. > :08:25.through a large number of people. Video shows that and it is evidence

:08:26. > :08:31.that people were on the ground receiving treatment. Police say that

:08:32. > :08:35.the driver fled. The Metro stations and train stations were closed,

:08:36. > :08:43.trying to find this person. There is now less information, what we were

:08:44. > :08:48.hearing about two armed men being hauled up in a bar somewhere around

:08:49. > :08:52.the area. We do not have more information on that but we do expect

:08:53. > :08:56.a news conference in from police in the area. As you say that, that news

:08:57. > :09:00.conferences currently going on. Let me bring you up to date with what

:09:01. > :09:06.police on the ground are saying. They have just said that in terms of

:09:07. > :09:09.numbers they are releasing at the moment, apologies, that is where the

:09:10. > :09:14.line of the news conference was coming into us from. They say that

:09:15. > :09:18.it is significant. One person has been killed and 32 injured. So there

:09:19. > :09:24.is a mismatch in terms of what has been reported earlier. Locally,

:09:25. > :09:28.reports of 13 people killed but police, in terms of their news

:09:29. > :09:34.conference, this has just happened, I will repeat it, a significant

:09:35. > :09:38.change in such a fluid situation, police reporting that one person has

:09:39. > :09:43.died and 32 people have been injured. We will try and have that

:09:44. > :09:48.news conference translated and bring you all of the detail in the next

:09:49. > :09:53.few moments. Richard, it is still an ongoing operation? Absolutely, the

:09:54. > :09:59.van driver apparently fled so they will still be looking for at least

:10:00. > :10:02.one person. There are reports of this ongoing situation inside of a

:10:03. > :10:06.bar, where apparently there were reports of armed men inside of a

:10:07. > :10:10.bar. There is no confirmation of that but clearly there is a massive

:10:11. > :10:14.police operation and a large number of armed police across the whole

:10:15. > :10:19.area. They are obviously in a high state of alert. It does not seem

:10:20. > :10:25.this incident is at an end at the moment. Thank you. An additional

:10:26. > :10:30.line from Catalan police, they say of the 32 people injured ten are

:10:31. > :10:33.seriously injured. That news conference just completed. We will

:10:34. > :10:39.try to bring you more in a couple of moments. Rees Richard is in

:10:40. > :10:42.Barcelona and he witnessed some of the events today. Thank you for

:10:43. > :10:49.joining us, can you tell us what you experienced? I was shopping with my

:10:50. > :10:53.girlfriend, and a van was at the top of Las Ramblas, where the impact

:10:54. > :10:57.happened. I turned around, to see what was going on. People started

:10:58. > :11:06.screaming and police were scrambling down the road. I looked over, I had

:11:07. > :11:11.a closer look and I could see that there was someone lying on the

:11:12. > :11:17.ground, with a police officer performing CPR. There was another

:11:18. > :11:21.next to that person. I did not think anything of it. I just thought

:11:22. > :11:26.somebody had dropped down from a heart attack, and then with all of

:11:27. > :11:33.the things that happened with London and across Europe, with these van

:11:34. > :11:38.attacks, I thought, maybe this has happened? Panic began to and people

:11:39. > :11:47.were running. There were more and more police. We were ushered into a

:11:48. > :11:54.make up store. Just to take safety. The doors were shut upon us. After

:11:55. > :12:00.that, half an hour later we were out. We started to head away from

:12:01. > :12:04.the centre. There were armed police going past, a helicopter in the air.

:12:05. > :12:10.I'm about to go through a tunnel so I may lose signal. Then, we went

:12:11. > :12:18.through a toll station and there were armed police there, checking

:12:19. > :12:23.cars for possible suspects. Can you tell me, you mentioned seeing the

:12:24. > :12:28.casualties on the ground by that stage, was the van anywhere in your

:12:29. > :12:34.side? All had it continued its journey at high speed further down

:12:35. > :12:37.the street? I did not see any van at all, if I saw it I would have known

:12:38. > :12:44.what happened but I did not see any van at all. And tell me, what is

:12:45. > :12:49.happening now? We were hearing a little earlier that the operation is

:12:50. > :12:57.still going on, as they try to search for the people who actually

:12:58. > :13:03.did this? We just passed through a toll station with armed police and

:13:04. > :13:09.they are checking cars. I assume for possible suspects. In Barcelona, as

:13:10. > :13:16.we were walking away from the centre, there were helicopters and

:13:17. > :13:24.police everywhere you could luck. Honestly, everywhere you could luck.

:13:25. > :13:29.Sirens going off, and a general sense of panic. Your line is going

:13:30. > :13:32.in and out so I will lead you there but thank you for giving me that

:13:33. > :13:37.information, in terms of what you have gone through today. I spoke to

:13:38. > :13:41.John Ward a short while ago, let me give you the latest information from

:13:42. > :13:45.him. He says that he can now see, you will remember that he was

:13:46. > :13:48.overlooking where the ban was, he can see police going door-to-door,

:13:49. > :13:54.opening and questioning those inside of shops and restaurants, bringing

:13:55. > :13:59.out shop owners in some cases, and escorting more people away. That

:14:00. > :14:04.operation that we have been describing as ongoing is clearly

:14:05. > :14:10.still happening there on the ground, as they move further and further

:14:11. > :14:14.down the cordoned off area, trying to get people safe, and of course

:14:15. > :14:17.they are looking for at least two perpetrators. I will be back with

:14:18. > :14:22.Richard Galpin with more of the latest information but in the last

:14:23. > :14:25.four while I spoke to Shelby from Bristol, who was in a market near

:14:26. > :14:32.the scene of the attack. This is what she described seeing. We were

:14:33. > :14:43.in a market. It is a long Las Ramblas. We were up on the Main

:14:44. > :14:46.Street but we stopped to look at some cakes in a bakery then

:14:47. > :14:50.suddenly, there was screaming and hundreds of people ran towards us,

:14:51. > :14:56.screaming and running. We ran into the bakery and ran up the stairs to

:14:57. > :15:00.hide. As we looked out of the window people were running through the

:15:01. > :15:03.market, hundreds and hundreds of people. They were running through

:15:04. > :15:10.the market and shutters were coming down. Lots of screaming and lots of

:15:11. > :15:14.running. We waited a few minutes and it seemed to calm down and we were

:15:15. > :15:17.told that we could go out. We went back into the market and a second

:15:18. > :15:23.wave hit. We were told it was not safe and we had to get back inside.

:15:24. > :15:27.Police swept through the market with guns. From where we were we could

:15:28. > :15:31.see through the market, and there were about seven police officers

:15:32. > :15:37.with guns, surrounding a doorway. That's the point where we just hate

:15:38. > :15:42.under the tables, and upstairs in the bakery. We were just waiting.

:15:43. > :15:47.There was a woman waiting and she ran off Las Ramblas, saying that she

:15:48. > :15:51.heard gunshots. We were there about 40 minutes, I think a hiding. Then

:15:52. > :15:55.we were told it was safe to come out but we had to move away from the

:15:56. > :16:03.area. It sounds incredibly frightening? We are still a little

:16:04. > :16:08.shaky, to be honest. You know, people around us are going back to

:16:09. > :16:12.normal a little more now but the tourists are very shaken up, I

:16:13. > :16:16.think. And certainly, what we are reading and what we are seeing, from

:16:17. > :16:24.local authorities and reports from the scene, that clearly this is not

:16:25. > :16:32.over, as they still try and find the perpetrator, or perpetrators, of

:16:33. > :16:36.this attack? That's what we believe, what we have managed to work out.

:16:37. > :16:38.There are police and ambulance is still on the street, and an

:16:39. > :16:46.ambulance above us. We are told it is not yet over. And in terms of the

:16:47. > :16:51.area where the police are, how large is the area where the security

:16:52. > :16:55.operation is going on? It seems to be quite a large area. We are not

:16:56. > :17:01.among the Main Street any more, so I cannot give any detailed information

:17:02. > :17:05.on it. But there is a high police visibility and roads are shut. The

:17:06. > :17:12.gates to the market are shut, the Metro is shut. They are clearing

:17:13. > :17:17.everybody out the area. Give me an idea as to how busy it was at the

:17:18. > :17:23.time? The pictures we saw in the immediate aftermath, it looks very

:17:24. > :17:26.busy? It is so busy, much busier than yesterday, actually. It's a bit

:17:27. > :17:33.of a surprise. There were hundreds of people, very busy. Those are the

:17:34. > :17:40.pictures of the van in the centre of the screen as we ended hearing from

:17:41. > :17:43.that latest eyewitness. Before I ask Richard the next question, it is

:17:44. > :17:48.worth returning to what we heard from police. They clarify figures,

:17:49. > :17:52.no surprise, in a fluid situation like this, that the numbers have

:17:53. > :17:56.changed. They say that one person has died, 32 injured and ten

:17:57. > :18:00.seriously injured. But, one would fully expect for that to change

:18:01. > :18:05.again potentially in the coming minutes. Richard has been following

:18:06. > :18:10.things. Just to put this in perspective, we have seen attacks in

:18:11. > :18:15.several European countries. The UK, France and Belgium, but not in Spain

:18:16. > :18:19.for the last few years? Not since 2004 when there was a very serious

:18:20. > :18:27.attack, almost 200 people were killed and many hundreds injured in

:18:28. > :18:31.the Madrid train bombings. In 2004, it happened just before the general

:18:32. > :18:35.election and the belief was it was carried out by an Al-Qaeda cell, or

:18:36. > :18:40.an Al-Qaeda inspired group of people. It was a very serious attack

:18:41. > :18:45.and since then, as far as I have been aware, there haven't been any

:18:46. > :18:50.major attacks, not carried out by Islamist militants. And in recent

:18:51. > :18:54.times, we saw the van in those pictures, but that has become a

:18:55. > :18:59.weapon used by terrorists in their attacks? We have seen it in several

:19:00. > :19:03.different cities and it is so difficult to defend yourself from?

:19:04. > :19:09.It has become a weapon of choice. We do not know who was behind the

:19:10. > :19:16.attack. Certainly, we know that Islamic State and some other

:19:17. > :19:19.hard-core Ms Bacha Khan militant groups, -- hard-core Islamist

:19:20. > :19:24.militant groups, they have used these as weapons as they are easy to

:19:25. > :19:28.get hold of, and you can cause a huge amount of damage. We have seen

:19:29. > :19:33.every pattern, over the last year, you go back to the horrific attack

:19:34. > :19:37.in Nice, when more than 80 people were killed in July of last year,

:19:38. > :19:43.right the way through Berlin and Stockholm, and Paris, and is now in

:19:44. > :19:46.London, two attacks using vehicles. What was interesting is that there

:19:47. > :19:52.was an eyewitness saying that he thought that he saw the van veering

:19:53. > :19:55.from left to right. That is also a hallmark of these attacks that we

:19:56. > :20:01.have seen in the past where they try and hit as many people as possible.

:20:02. > :20:05.That's just one eyewitness, not totally reliable, so that is one

:20:06. > :20:09.thing that we thought we have seen. Some pictures of armed police, we

:20:10. > :20:14.have heard how they are moving from street to street, as they are

:20:15. > :20:21.looking for the perpetrators. You can see on the screen, you have

:20:22. > :20:26.heavily armed response, as they are looking for the people who have

:20:27. > :20:29.carried this out. That is going on. For intelligence services, in

:20:30. > :20:34.moments like this, in the immediate hours afterwards, they are dealing

:20:35. > :20:37.with so much. All of those questions about whether they have missed

:20:38. > :20:41.things, they will come later. At the moment they are trying to find out

:20:42. > :20:45.how many perpetrators there are and if there are more coming. Their

:20:46. > :20:50.first priority is to protect civilians, so if they are worried,

:20:51. > :20:56.the perpetrators of this attack are still at large, that is the top

:20:57. > :21:00.priority and they will be devoting as many resources as they possibly

:21:01. > :21:05.can to that. Large numbers of armed police on the streets. My instinct

:21:06. > :21:10.is that there have been armed guards and police in buildings for some

:21:11. > :21:13.time now. There was some concern about potential attacks, given what

:21:14. > :21:20.happened in the rest of Western Europe. It is obviously now flooded

:21:21. > :21:23.with armed police. And security services, intelligence agencies,

:21:24. > :21:26.they will be working very hard. Looking at lists of people

:21:27. > :21:29.potentially who will be suspects, they have a list of people who they

:21:30. > :21:35.believe may have been radicalised, for example. They will be working

:21:36. > :21:41.really hard. Some of the questions they will be turning their

:21:42. > :21:52.retentions -- turning their attentions to. Exactly what we

:21:53. > :21:59.heard, John Ward, reporting. We saw those pictures from him of armed

:22:00. > :22:03.police moving down his street. Let's go back to Las Ramblas, John lives

:22:04. > :22:10.on that street. Thank you, tell me more about what you have seen in the

:22:11. > :22:20.last little while after Mark since I last spoke to you, things around the

:22:21. > :22:26.van are fairly quiet. There was an initial burst of excitement. The

:22:27. > :22:31.place right in front of me is still in lockdown. There was a heavy

:22:32. > :22:37.police presence. What they have been doing is going from establishment to

:22:38. > :22:43.establishment, knocking on doors and knocking on shutters. People have

:22:44. > :22:48.opened the shutters and have been brought out onto the street. Once it

:22:49. > :22:53.is established that they are not the people they are looking for, they

:22:54. > :23:00.have been escorted away from this particular area. Nobody is moving

:23:01. > :23:05.along Las Ramblas, unless they are under police escort. They are

:23:06. > :23:10.putting police tape up, right in front of me. Underneath where I

:23:11. > :23:16.live. The van is still there. Nobody has really touched it. The

:23:17. > :23:20.fatalities, now, I would suggest that there are at least two right in

:23:21. > :23:27.front of me. But obviously, that is not confirmed. I understand that

:23:28. > :23:31.they are still there. They are obviously dealing with all sorts of

:23:32. > :23:36.other things. I understand that, we have had the latest press conference

:23:37. > :23:40.from police and they have said at the moment, figures they release one

:23:41. > :23:44.dead and 32 injured, we understand what you say but we leave it to

:23:45. > :23:53.police confirm that. Obviously unconfirmed. Catalan police are in

:23:54. > :24:02.charge, they are in front of me now and they are searching buildings and

:24:03. > :24:06.coordinating movement. The local police, they have cordoned off Las

:24:07. > :24:14.Ramblas down to my right, and nobody is moving, unless police say so.

:24:15. > :24:21.That is the situation at the moment. The van is still right in front of

:24:22. > :24:28.me. It has not been touched for at least an hour. It must be very

:24:29. > :24:32.concerning, to be there at the heart of things and seeing this going on

:24:33. > :24:39.around you. I've heard it dozens of times but for the grace of God, I

:24:40. > :24:43.have been walking -- I could have been walking through Las Ramblas,

:24:44. > :24:49.doing what I do, for the grace of God could have been made. But here I

:24:50. > :24:52.am. Have you heard anything more about these reports we've been

:24:53. > :24:58.getting, as we sit here in London trying to make of those reports as

:24:59. > :25:05.perhaps one person or two people holed up in a bar, potentially

:25:06. > :25:09.holding other people? Have you heard anything? Nothing. Nobody is going

:25:10. > :25:17.anywhere unless police say so here. Quite what is going on, the bakery

:25:18. > :25:22.where the lady was speaking to you from earlier on, it is about 50

:25:23. > :25:27.metres towards Placa de Catalunya. But I have heard nothing about the

:25:28. > :25:32.perpetrators. John, we will leave you there. We are coming to the end

:25:33. > :25:39.of our coverage on BBC World News for now. But let me give you the key

:25:40. > :25:43.bits, as we continue to see the key pictures and key information, the

:25:44. > :25:47.news conference from police in the last little while confirming one

:25:48. > :25:51.dead, 32 injured and ten of those seriously injured. They are

:25:52. > :25:59.continuing to search for the perpetrators. Let's get more now

:26:00. > :26:06.from my colleague, Jane Hill. She spoke to an American tourist called

:26:07. > :26:12.Tom Markwell, he was in Barcelona. This afternoon, I came in on a

:26:13. > :26:17.flight, and I was in a taxi, just turning on to Las Ramblas. Maybe

:26:18. > :26:26.just a block and a half from my hotel. I was looking at the

:26:27. > :26:32.boulevard from the back of the taxi and I heard this group of people

:26:33. > :26:38.screaming at the same time. You just do not think that naturally. Then, I

:26:39. > :26:45.looked to my left and I saw a white van with its front looking like it

:26:46. > :26:50.was breaking out. At first, I thought it must be somebody working

:26:51. > :26:54.and driving, a service vehicle. Then I realised he was going entirely too

:26:55. > :27:01.fast, and it looked to be as though he was going from left to right,

:27:02. > :27:04.hitting people at the little stands, the people shopping. People were

:27:05. > :27:12.screaming and they were running. My taxi stopped. We knew immediately

:27:13. > :27:19.what had happened, what was going on. At that moment. We waited for a

:27:20. > :27:30.second, my taxi driver just began to say, old, my God. I was in shock. --

:27:31. > :27:36.oh my God. I was near my hotel and I ran inside. Everybody was running

:27:37. > :27:43.into any space, to find safety. They were coming into the hotel and

:27:44. > :27:48.screaming. Interestingly, I turned around and they began to run the

:27:49. > :27:53.other way. That was when hotel staff put me behind the front desk and

:27:54. > :28:00.down on the ground. At that point, it just seemed surreal. They got all

:28:01. > :28:05.of us together into a room which was just off the entrance of the hotel.

:28:06. > :28:14.To me, it did not feel safe at all because there was really nobody and

:28:15. > :28:18.to the room -- there was nobody armed. I left the room and said,

:28:19. > :28:23.give me a room key. I came upstairs, I thought I would rather be one

:28:24. > :28:30.person in hundreds of rooms rather than hundreds of people in one room.

:28:31. > :28:34.As I can see, everybody across the hotel, they are watching out of

:28:35. > :28:41.their window, wondering what now? You are having to, in terms of what

:28:42. > :28:45.you do next, are you having to base your actions on watching the

:28:46. > :28:50.television following social media? Do you speak the language? Do you

:28:51. > :29:03.feel cut off? What is your sense right now? I speak Spanish, but when

:29:04. > :29:10.you see that, I thought to myself, maybe, I don't know, maybe people

:29:11. > :29:15.got out of the way? I looked and I saw this lady laying sprawled on the

:29:16. > :29:23.ground with blood, and I thought that this was going to be really

:29:24. > :29:27.bad. Apparently I am watching the BBC now, and apparently there is

:29:28. > :29:32.somebody holed up in a place nearby. So I am just going to stay in my

:29:33. > :29:37.room for the night. I do not think there is anywhere I need to go that

:29:38. > :29:42.badly, let's put it that way. Of course. Given what we have seen in

:29:43. > :29:48.various European countries, in recent months, did you have any

:29:49. > :29:52.qualms at all about being in Barcelona? You know, it's really

:29:53. > :29:59.interesting, it was in the back of my mind. As I arrived. Not

:30:00. > :30:04.necessarily Barcelona but it was in my mind, just thinking to myself,

:30:05. > :30:07.you know, is it safe? You never think that it is going to happen to

:30:08. > :30:12.you, you never think that you are going to see it. You just see it on

:30:13. > :30:22.the news. That time that you do see it, it is so surreal that you cannot

:30:23. > :30:25.even process it. Obviously, there is always the question, whether you

:30:26. > :30:31.should stay at home but you have two... Life goes on. It was

:30:32. > :30:42.definitely the most horrible thing I've ever seen in my life.

:30:43. > :31:00.you are watching BBC News BBC News, terrorist attack at the heart of

:31:01. > :31:13.Barcelona. More than 30 people have been entered, ten of them seriously.

:31:14. > :31:23.Police shouted at everyone. It was just a loud, crashing noise. Just an

:31:24. > :31:30.immediate stampede. The vehicle flowed into people at Las Ramblas,

:31:31. > :31:37.an area popular with two arrests. Spanish media have reported that two

:31:38. > :31:42.armed men have barricaded themselves into a bar in the area. It is not

:31:43. > :31:54.clear if they are connected to the van attack. URL in the BBC News

:31:55. > :31:57.special on the events in the last few hours in Barcelona. Police have

:31:58. > :32:05.said they are dealing with an ongoing terrorist attack after an

:32:06. > :32:08.van ploughed into people in one of the busiest areas of the city.

:32:09. > :32:14.Details have been coming through across the last few hours. Police

:32:15. > :32:22.have confirmed that at least one person has died, 32 injured, ten

:32:23. > :32:29.seriously. This incident happened at Las Ramblas, one of the most popular

:32:30. > :32:34.two wrist parts of the city. Major thoroughfare. It is in the middle of

:32:35. > :32:37.Barcelona, particularly popular with two wrist because of Bath and

:32:38. > :32:44.restaurants. Witnesses have described hundreds of people running

:32:45. > :32:48.down the streets, some hid in shops, and we spoke to one man who was

:32:49. > :32:56.sheltering in a church. Spanish media have reported that two armed

:32:57. > :33:01.men are holed up in a bar and some reports that they had taken hostages

:33:02. > :33:05.but I have got to stress that particular line has not been

:33:06. > :33:15.confirmed by police. Some of the details are still sketchy. We can

:33:16. > :33:19.work out what we know. Over security correspondent has been following

:33:20. > :33:25.this. Inevitably, we start with casualties and otherwise. The

:33:26. > :33:32.authorities have not been keen to put specific numbers on that? We

:33:33. > :33:42.have had one statement from the Catalan authorities, confirming one

:33:43. > :33:46.dead and many injured. But they have stressed that was provisional. So

:33:47. > :33:51.far, relatively little on the number of casualties. In terms of what

:33:52. > :33:57.happened, it was striking that the police said quickly they were

:33:58. > :34:02.treating this as a terrorist attack. It is the nature of what happened.

:34:03. > :34:10.He posted quickly that it looked like the van mounted the pavement.

:34:11. > :34:15.Las Ramblas, it is a very busy tourist area, especially in the

:34:16. > :34:18.summer. That immediately gave the suspicion it was terrorist related.

:34:19. > :34:28.And after the incident police said they believed it was. And we

:34:29. > :34:33.regrettably talk frequently have soft targets. Again, this is an

:34:34. > :34:42.example. And a methodology that has been used by groups over the years.

:34:43. > :34:51.At Nice, a lorry on Bastille Day. Germany, driven into people at

:34:52. > :34:55.Christmas markets. Stockholm, a van in the city centre. And add London,

:34:56. > :35:02.we have seen London Bridge and Finsbury Park. We have seen this

:35:03. > :35:05.methodology, often going for those high-profile, busy and iconic

:35:06. > :35:15.targets like Las Ramblas at Barcelona. Thank you. We will let

:35:16. > :35:24.you get more details. Thank you. We have been reflecting on what a

:35:25. > :35:29.densely populated area this is, popular area. It could well have

:35:30. > :35:33.been that a lot of local people, Spanish people have been caught up

:35:34. > :35:40.in this. But Barcelona is a massive draw for tourists. And this

:35:41. > :35:45.particular street, tourist hotspot. We have been talking to a lot of

:35:46. > :35:52.tourists and we can talk to another one. I am joined by Kevin. An

:35:53. > :35:55.American who I believe is on holiday in Barcelona. Explain what you have

:35:56. > :36:10.witnessed in the city this afternoon. Hi. We are your own --

:36:11. > :36:18.here on honeymoon. We were eating at the markets, next to Las Ramblas.

:36:19. > :36:29.And in the corner of that market, as we were eating, suddenly hundreds of

:36:30. > :36:36.people came running into the market, towards us. Knocking over tables.

:36:37. > :36:46.Really panicking. People running. And did you understand what was

:36:47. > :36:53.happening? Not at all. It was confusing but obviously people were

:36:54. > :37:00.extremely panicked and we got up and started running as well. They were

:37:01. > :37:08.ploughing into anyone. As we came out of the market, we were on Las

:37:09. > :37:16.Ramblas, where the market had happened. We ran out of the market,

:37:17. > :37:25.into a lot of people lying on the street, and a lot of casualties. The

:37:26. > :37:32.first responder is coming to the scene. And what have people been

:37:33. > :37:37.saying? I have spoken to a lot of people who have had similar

:37:38. > :37:43.experiences over the last few hours? Some people talked about panic,

:37:44. > :37:49.confusion, what would you say and what was going on? The people who

:37:50. > :37:58.had been out there when it happened or just crying. Standing on the

:37:59. > :38:06.street, weeping. And as we ran out, somebody said they hit all the

:38:07. > :38:16.people. Just crying. It was very confusing because it was a lot of

:38:17. > :38:19.activity happening. The police were coming from the north side, huge

:38:20. > :38:25.crowds running from that side... Also running from where the accident

:38:26. > :38:36.had just happened. And the armed police, with salt rifles -- assault

:38:37. > :38:46.rifles sweeped the area. Everybody was panicked about which we, way we

:38:47. > :38:59.should go. And you said that you had chosen Barcelona for your honeymoon.

:39:00. > :39:02.Any conversations about where you wanted to go, where you felt

:39:03. > :39:09.comfortable? Was this something that you thought about when climbing?

:39:10. > :39:16.Previously we were in London and Stockholm, and the next destination

:39:17. > :39:23.after here is Paris. We did talk a bit, these are high profile European

:39:24. > :39:30.cities. We knew that these things could happen. But I guess you just

:39:31. > :39:38.hope it is not going to happen to the people that you love. Try to

:39:39. > :39:47.live your life. Of course. And how are you feeling now? You have

:39:48. > :39:56.managed to get away, do you feel the authorities are in control of the

:39:57. > :39:59.situation? What is your feeling? We were locked down right about, 20

:40:00. > :40:11.metres from the final crash site. We could see all the activity and a lot

:40:12. > :40:20.of people hiding, with police around. They didn't want anyone to

:40:21. > :40:22.flee the area. The police wanted to keep the streets clear. Tense

:40:23. > :40:29.minutes, hearing the helicopter overhead. That police running past

:40:30. > :40:38.us with rifles, shouting. But finally they said that our area was

:40:39. > :40:47.clear. Let us and others out. By the city is still feeling very tense,

:40:48. > :40:56.metro shut down. No traffic allowed near Placa de Catalunya. People

:40:57. > :41:02.cannot take the bus. We are doing a 6km walk home right now. We hope

:41:03. > :41:07.that you get home safely. Thank you for talking to us. It is good of you

:41:08. > :41:14.to talk to us after what you have been through. Thank you so much. We

:41:15. > :41:23.can talk to another man, in fact another American two wrist --

:41:24. > :41:32.tourist. In the area. Robert... Tell us about your experience. I was in a

:41:33. > :41:35.store, about to purchase something and suddenly they said close the

:41:36. > :41:53.tills, close the tills, nobody can read. -- leave. And long story

:41:54. > :42:03.short, I was trying to make a purchase, they said no one can

:42:04. > :42:14.leave, and after five minutes they said towards my general direction. I

:42:15. > :42:21.did a 180 turn. Ran into a random apartment block. Block of flats. Ran

:42:22. > :42:31.up some stairs. I thought it was probably not a good idea to be close

:42:32. > :42:38.to any windows, stayed on the ground floor. Eventually the police told us

:42:39. > :42:45.that we could leave, we walked, get was a pretty generally horrible

:42:46. > :42:53.experience. Thank you for talking to us. The line is difficult. We will

:42:54. > :43:03.let you go. But thank you so much for speaking to us. The Reuters news

:43:04. > :43:08.agency has reported that police have found a second van they believe is

:43:09. > :43:14.connected to this attack. The police have said that they have found a

:43:15. > :43:21.second van and from what I understand it is at a different

:43:22. > :43:27.town, not Barcelona. We will try to get you some details. And the US

:43:28. > :43:30.Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been talking about this and he said

:43:31. > :43:36.that the United States stands ready to assist the Spanish authorities.

:43:37. > :43:45.United States standing ready to assist the Spanish authorities. We

:43:46. > :43:54.can talk to a BBC correspondent at the city. He works for our

:43:55. > :44:05.colleagues. I understand he is in Barcelona. Explain I am about 100

:44:06. > :44:13.metres from the scene of the attack. I can see many police officers and

:44:14. > :44:20.tourists are still being directed out of the area. It is one of the

:44:21. > :44:22.most populous and crowded areas during the day and evenings.

:44:23. > :44:38.Especially, tourists a large crowd they are

:44:39. > :44:46.trying to direct out of the area. Helicopters overhead. Not letting

:44:47. > :44:50.people go in, making sure people get out. And of course a lot of people

:44:51. > :44:58.are following what is going on on social media, reports that have been

:44:59. > :45:14.varying from different sources. Many people injured. Also, I saw in the

:45:15. > :45:20.old town, historic parts of the city. Going from restaurants to

:45:21. > :45:27.restaurants, door to door with guns, obviously looking for the man who

:45:28. > :45:35.ran after allegedly attacking people as the driver. That just gives you

:45:36. > :45:41.the sense of what is going on in the old town next to Las Ramblas. And

:45:42. > :45:48.essentially the police trying to say to people just stay indoors?

:45:49. > :45:53.Cordoning off streets? Stay inside? That is the situation as far as you

:45:54. > :46:00.can tell? They want people as far away from the centre, you can hear

:46:01. > :46:09.the chopper... Telling people, because the suspect is on the run as

:46:10. > :46:21.many understand it, better not to come out. Don't come out to the

:46:22. > :46:25.area. The area the attack happened and where they are searching. Thank

:46:26. > :46:31.you very much. I imagine we will be talking to you over the course of

:46:32. > :46:36.the next few hours. But we will let you talk to the authorities. Thank

:46:37. > :46:41.you very much. One of my colleagues from the BBC Persian service in

:46:42. > :46:49.Barcelona. Clearly, a lot of activity. Tourists, still very much

:46:50. > :47:01.being cleared from central areas. We can also told, talk to a

:47:02. > :47:07.correspondent, based out of Madrid. With that sense of distance, are you

:47:08. > :47:12.able to stand back and give us a sense of partly what the Spanish

:47:13. > :47:22.media have been saying and how this attack is being responded to across

:47:23. > :47:27.the country as a whole? We have that official figure, one death confirmed

:47:28. > :47:40.by Catalan authorities, but the Catalan ministers said that it is

:47:41. > :47:44.going to be more. Reports that at least 13 dead. Quite wide reports in

:47:45. > :47:47.newspapers across Spain. It has not been confirmed by authorities. Some

:47:48. > :48:06.information about that van that was found. It was found in a town just

:48:07. > :48:14.outside Barcelona, and the waiting for somebody to escape. The

:48:15. > :48:17.authorities seem to be cheating that van as suspicious. Possibly with

:48:18. > :48:30.some connection to this attack. We also have reports of three police

:48:31. > :48:35.officers being hit elsewhere in the city of Barcelona. That has just

:48:36. > :48:39.emerged. We do not know if that is connected. It is a chaotic scene, a

:48:40. > :48:48.lot of confusion and we are waiting for some solid facts to come out

:48:49. > :48:52.from the government and officials. And sadly, when you have an attack

:48:53. > :48:57.of this nature it becomes almost instinct to talk about security and

:48:58. > :49:03.has also of security is present in the area. But that in itself is a

:49:04. > :49:16.difficult question because we have seen this trend of attacks on soft

:49:17. > :49:21.targets. Busy tourist street. Local people and tourists. Soft targets.

:49:22. > :49:28.The authorities would say it is only so much that they can do. Recently I

:49:29. > :49:32.was speaking to a security official at the foreign embassy and he said

:49:33. > :49:36.that he thought the Interior Ministry was very worried about

:49:37. > :49:40.this. The Spanish Interior Ministry was extremely worried about the sort

:49:41. > :49:47.of attack. It is very difficult to stop. Barcelona would appear to be a

:49:48. > :49:55.very obvious target, it is so popular with tourists and so heavily

:49:56. > :50:07.populated at this time of the year. Las Ramblas, it is just full of

:50:08. > :50:13.people. Cars can get near it. A big police presence there but only so

:50:14. > :50:21.much you can do. Obviously reacting quickly, but only so much you can

:50:22. > :50:26.do. Armed police nearby. Thank you. We will get back to you over the

:50:27. > :50:32.course of the next few hours but we will let you get more details from

:50:33. > :50:38.the authorities. My colleague Andy is with me. You have been monitoring

:50:39. > :50:43.all of the various outlets, looking at what the authorities have been

:50:44. > :50:52.saying. It has been several hours, but still a good degree of

:50:53. > :50:58.confusion. Assess what we know for sure? What we have got from the

:50:59. > :51:05.Catalan police, who have been very good on updating people, we know

:51:06. > :51:10.that we had a van mowing down a lot of people on Las Ramblas, the

:51:11. > :51:17.pedestrianised area in central Barcelona. Several people killed. At

:51:18. > :51:25.them, it stands at one, according to the police. Ten seriously injured.

:51:26. > :51:31.32 total injured. That is the casualty figure at the moment. But

:51:32. > :51:37.the media, Wakeley reporting that as many as 13 killed. Police have said

:51:38. > :51:44.that they were looking for at least one suspect who managed to make

:51:45. > :51:51.their way away from the van on foot. Police denying reports there had

:51:52. > :52:01.been gunfire. That is what we have officially got on the record. But

:52:02. > :52:04.other reports swiling around, two gunmen holed up in a local bar with

:52:05. > :52:10.hostages. Those reports came out some time ago. Nothing further. That

:52:11. > :52:16.particular point has been confused. A lot of Spanish media adamant about

:52:17. > :52:26.that for a while. But the police have not been talking about that

:52:27. > :52:34.angle? On the record, they said no gunfire. Police have said that was

:52:35. > :52:37.not the case. This has been reminiscent of a lot of terrorist

:52:38. > :52:44.attacks, you have got reports from all over the police and some of them

:52:45. > :52:51.are accurate and some seem incredible, eventually turning out

:52:52. > :52:53.to be correct. You remember that attacked her Norway, the explosion

:52:54. > :53:02.at the centre of the city and then afterwards we had reports of gunfire

:53:03. > :53:08.on an island far away. It was linked. It seemed incredible but in

:53:09. > :53:13.the end they were linked. We have just got to wait and see which of

:53:14. > :53:20.these reports are accurate. And the police have said that they could

:53:21. > :53:30.not, would not, speculate on the motives for this. This is what we

:53:31. > :53:33.always look for such a grim time. The hardest thing to work out.

:53:34. > :53:42.Sometimes we never know. It is interesting that the police declare

:53:43. > :53:48.this a terror incident. Why was that? Do they have information that

:53:49. > :53:52.we are not party to at the moment? From the start it certainly looked

:53:53. > :53:58.like a terrorist attack. The location, Las Ramblas, if you are a

:53:59. > :54:02.terrorist, certainly Las Ramblas is the place that you would choose add

:54:03. > :54:11.Barcelona. From the start it looked suspicious. But were clear it was a

:54:12. > :54:14.police terrorist attack. We do not know if anybody has claimed

:54:15. > :54:22.responsibility. We do not know how the police made that decision. But

:54:23. > :54:30.they said it was political motives. We do not know if it is one man,

:54:31. > :54:40.two... If this van in another location, near Barcelona is linked.

:54:41. > :54:48.Several hours, still confused. But the central thing is that at least

:54:49. > :54:52.one suspect is still on the loose. Thank you. I know that you're going

:54:53. > :55:00.to be staying with us. And the confirmation that one person has

:55:01. > :55:10.died, 32 injured. But Spanish media speculating that those numbers are

:55:11. > :55:15.going to rise further. We can hear from one British holiday-maker. A

:55:16. > :55:24.British solicitor on holiday. He told me what he had seen and heard.

:55:25. > :55:28.It is a beautiful sunny day, Las Ramblas is in the centre of the city

:55:29. > :55:35.and it is jam-packed with tourists. I was about to sit down and have

:55:36. > :55:42.something to eat, but seconds later it was a crashing noise. The whole

:55:43. > :55:50.street, screaming. Everybody started to run, so I started running and

:55:51. > :55:56.shops shut, kids were screaming. After seconds, police officers were

:55:57. > :56:02.out. I noticed yesterday when I arrived, it was a heavy police

:56:03. > :56:08.presence. Guns were out. Ambulances and fire engines. We could see at

:56:09. > :56:14.the top of the street, so many vans. I tried to get into a shop, people

:56:15. > :56:20.were panicking and the shopkeeper said something about a van. I tried

:56:21. > :56:27.to ask him and he said he thought that he had seen a van driving into

:56:28. > :56:31.a crowd. Five, six people seriously injured. At that point, that

:56:32. > :56:40.ambulance and Fire Brigade were on the scene and people were panicking.

:56:41. > :56:44.We were pushed back and pushed back again. The police are absolutely

:56:45. > :56:51.everywhere at the moment. That is just one of the many tourists that

:56:52. > :56:58.we have been talking to. We can also speak to Ethan who was nearby. My

:56:59. > :57:08.boyfriend and I or just walking back from the beach. We were just about

:57:09. > :57:15.to cross Las Ramblas and we could sense that something was strange. My

:57:16. > :57:19.boyfriend felt something odd. And all of a sudden, the police started

:57:20. > :57:25.shooting at everybody to start running. It was a crashing noise.

:57:26. > :57:33.But I was not going to stop and look back. It was an instant stampede

:57:34. > :57:44.down all the streets. By Las Ramblas. We are in a church with

:57:45. > :57:47.tourists and locals. The police are oversight. We're just waiting for

:57:48. > :57:56.more news. It was scary to get caught up in this. And when you said

:57:57. > :58:00.it was a stampede, literally you mean you and lots of people just

:58:01. > :58:05.ran? The police told you to get out of the way? Anybody who has been to

:58:06. > :58:16.Barcelona knows how busy this area is. It was just the police shouting,

:58:17. > :58:24.screams... People turned round instantly. I had to stop to help a

:58:25. > :58:28.small child up, who was knocked over. But people were obviously

:58:29. > :58:35.getting separated from families, just running into shops nearby.

:58:36. > :58:39.Shops were pulling down shutters. Locking doors. Some black people

:58:40. > :58:47.were going to BC. These are really narrow streets, it was a heavy

:58:48. > :59:00.stampede in the opposite direction. How many people are in the church?

:59:01. > :59:05.About 80 people. Handing out food and drink. It is a large trucks,

:59:06. > :59:11.next to Las Ramblas. They have locked the doors. I understand that

:59:12. > :59:18.the police are outside, everybody just anxiously waiting to hear more.

:59:19. > :59:21.And while you are inside the church, you only know what is going on

:59:22. > :59:27.because you are following social media, watching television,

:59:28. > :59:31.streaming TV? I have had about 50, 60 messages over the last ten

:59:32. > :59:39.minutes. First one went to my parents. But from what we have seen

:59:40. > :59:46.on television, we understand it is possibly a hostage situation going

:59:47. > :59:51.on. It could be 100 metres away from the church where we are. It is in

:59:52. > :00:01.lockdown. That is what I understand. That was a British to rest --

:00:02. > :00:05.tourist talking to me earlier, sheltering in the wake of this

:00:06. > :00:15.terrorist attack in Barcelona. This is BBC News, I'm Jane Hill.

:00:16. > :00:17.This is our main story here this evening.

:00:18. > :00:21.A terror attack in the heart of Barcelona - a van ploughs

:00:22. > :00:26.into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, a district popular with tourists.

:00:27. > :00:36.It was all of us, and police shouted at everyone to run. There was a

:00:37. > :00:41.really loud crashing noise. I did not stop to look back. It was just

:00:42. > :00:45.an immediate stampede in the opposite direction. Police in the

:00:46. > :00:49.city confirm at least one person has died and more than 30 have been

:00:50. > :00:50.injured. Ten are in a serious condition.

:00:51. > :00:53.Spanish police say they are searching for the driver,

:00:54. > :01:00.They are advising people to stay away from the area.

:01:01. > :01:06.There have been reports on local media that two armed men have

:01:07. > :01:11.barricaded themselves in a nearby bar. It is still not clear as to

:01:12. > :01:30.whether that is connected with the gun attack. -- with the van attack.

:01:31. > :01:37.You're watching a BBC News special on events in Barcelona -

:01:38. > :01:46.we are staying with this one news story here on BBC News. In the last

:01:47. > :01:50.few hours there has been a terror attack in Barcelona, police say that

:01:51. > :01:54.they are dealing with an ongoing situation, a van ploughed into

:01:55. > :01:58.pedestrians in one of the busiest tourist areas of the Spanish city.

:01:59. > :02:02.So, to confirm what we know at this stage.

:02:03. > :02:08.Spanish police confirmed at least one person has been killed and 32

:02:09. > :02:15.injured. Ten are seriously injured. This happened, as you can see on the

:02:16. > :02:18.map in that tourist area of Las Ramblas, on a major thoroughfare

:02:19. > :02:23.through the centre of the city. It is particularly popular with

:02:24. > :02:27.tourists because of markets, bars and restaurants. Over the last the

:02:28. > :02:30.hours witnesses have described hundreds of people running down the

:02:31. > :02:36.streets. People have spoken to us who were hiding in shops, in a

:02:37. > :02:44.church. Spanish media is reporting two armed men have been in a nearby

:02:45. > :02:50.bar and taken hostages but that specific line hasn't been confirmed

:02:51. > :02:56.by police. Let's take a look at the scene live in Barcelona at the

:02:57. > :03:00.moment. This tells its own story, reflecting exactly what all of the

:03:01. > :03:04.eyewitnesses we have been talking to have been saying. That police have

:03:05. > :03:09.been moving people out of the area as much as possible. The advice is

:03:10. > :03:14.to stay indoors, and anyone who has been out on the streets have been

:03:15. > :03:18.moved away and we have spoken to many witnesses here on BBC News in

:03:19. > :03:22.the last few hours. They have been moved out of the key central area

:03:23. > :03:27.for their own safety. The police cordon has been getting slowly

:03:28. > :03:32.bigger, which is why the streets are looking very quiet. Not entirely

:03:33. > :03:36.deserted there, but every witness we have spoken to have said that they

:03:37. > :03:40.have been hurried down side streets, people have been running and police

:03:41. > :03:45.have been moving people away. Certainly, at the moment, the advice

:03:46. > :03:49.is to still stay indoors wherever possible. To reiterate, the casualty

:03:50. > :03:53.numbers, as we understand them, there has been a lot of confusion

:03:54. > :04:05.about this, the official police comment on that is one person has

:04:06. > :04:07.died and 32 are injured. You may well have heard or picked up on

:04:08. > :04:10.social media are far bigger numbers than that, sadly. That is partly

:04:11. > :04:13.because Spanish media say that at least 13 people have died. That is

:04:14. > :04:18.what is being said locally. Spanish police will not confirm that at this

:04:19. > :04:22.stage. There is talk, first of all, to Will Geddes. A security

:04:23. > :04:27.consultant, well known to us here at the BBC. We speak to him a lot about

:04:28. > :04:35.these sorts of incidents. By chance, I gather that you are in Barcelona?

:04:36. > :04:40.Can you explain what you have experienced today and what you know

:04:41. > :04:45.of the situation? Absolutely. I have been down at the court in line along

:04:46. > :04:52.Las Ramblas. I was actually hear a few hours ago. The view is, it's a

:04:53. > :04:57.very small boulevard, in many regards. It is incredibly busy.

:04:58. > :05:05.Every single shop or building contains a cafe, a shop, a

:05:06. > :05:14.restaurant. It is packed, from dawn until dusk, with tourists. And

:05:15. > :05:17.locals. I got reports, I was a mile away from the events taking place

:05:18. > :05:25.and I got there as quickly as possible. The police cordon was

:05:26. > :05:30.quickly mounted by authorities and they put it further out every ten or

:05:31. > :05:37.15 minutes, moving the general public away. The sense here is,

:05:38. > :05:39.business as normal. It may be partly due to people not being necessarily

:05:40. > :05:48.aware of what has actually occurred today. And when you heard that this

:05:49. > :05:53.was a van that had driven into pedestrians, one person that I spoke

:05:54. > :05:58.to said that he watched it swerving, almost making a figure of eight, if

:05:59. > :06:04.I can put it that way, swerving into pedestrians. What goes through your

:06:05. > :06:10.mind about the modus operandi here? It's a typical and standard delivery

:06:11. > :06:16.platform by terror groups these days. And extremists, we have seen a

:06:17. > :06:22.lot of it recently and in North America obviously. Again, the

:06:23. > :06:28.delivery of attack by vehicle is easy to mount and it is difficult to

:06:29. > :06:33.prevent, other than with vehicle mitigation methods, putting concrete

:06:34. > :06:39.blocks into key areas. Barcelona will be reconsidering their planning

:06:40. > :06:42.to incorporate blocks around touristy areas in the city where

:06:43. > :06:50.there is a vast number of people congregated. That plays into the

:06:51. > :06:54.terror ideal. A lot of intelligence coming through now, there are

:06:55. > :06:59.certain people who are quite jumpy. There are a lot of different reports

:07:00. > :07:08.coming in right now, as you and I both know, in the first occasion of

:07:09. > :07:12.terror incidents, there could be some unsubstantiated reports. Some

:07:13. > :07:24.will be speculation but there have been confirmations that the second

:07:25. > :07:30.vehicle, that this vehicle was also rented and one can assume, certainly

:07:31. > :07:33.within a short period of time, that Spanish intelligence agencies are

:07:34. > :07:37.all over it and looking into the individual and any known associates.

:07:38. > :07:43.There will be thoughts of whether there could be other attacks in the

:07:44. > :07:47.imminent period. And so, that presents an extremely worrying

:07:48. > :07:51.scenario for the authorities, because, not to say that it could be

:07:52. > :07:59.in Barcelona, but it could be in another city. How, given your

:08:00. > :08:04.knowledge of this world, how do the authorities respond to that? Will

:08:05. > :08:11.they have, for example, a plan of action for precisely this grim sort

:08:12. > :08:13.of eventuality? In terms of prevention, it is incredibly

:08:14. > :08:19.difficult without putting in physical barriers as a proactive

:08:20. > :08:23.measure. I've been in many cities in the UK, and especially in London

:08:24. > :08:27.where I live, but authorities have a very good heritage of dealing with

:08:28. > :08:34.these kinds of incidents. Certainly, ranging right back to these events,

:08:35. > :08:43.they have a good legacy of dealing in this capacity and certainly, all

:08:44. > :08:47.agencies that are directly affected, there are supporters of Islamic

:08:48. > :08:50.State, and they would have been preparing themselves after each

:08:51. > :08:55.preceding attack, and as we have seen, many of these attacks have

:08:56. > :09:02.involved a delivery of attack by a vehicle. Because, regrettably, that

:09:03. > :09:10.is just so straightforward to do, is it as basic as that? Sadly, it is.

:09:11. > :09:18.It is something which is, unfortunately, an element of our

:09:19. > :09:24.everyday lives, and it is something that unfortunately any large town or

:09:25. > :09:28.city cannot exist without unless it has a sophisticated public

:09:29. > :09:33.transportation infrastructure. For the time being we will always have

:09:34. > :09:37.vehicles on our roads but where there are cities who could feel that

:09:38. > :09:41.they are vulnerable to this, they have to go on adopting a more robust

:09:42. > :09:50.stance, certainly introducing bees concrete blocks and hostile vehicle

:09:51. > :09:52.mitigation measures where they can. And unfortunately, the general

:09:53. > :09:57.public should take reassurance from that rather than an alarmist

:09:58. > :10:03.perspective, in that we had to live in fear. We are going to be safer

:10:04. > :10:08.with protective measures all around us. And the only thing that could

:10:09. > :10:12.truly prevent this kind of attack, and you and I reflected on this the

:10:13. > :10:19.morning after the London Bridge attack here in the UK, ultimately,

:10:20. > :10:23.because of what has happened here is relatively straightforward, as you

:10:24. > :10:30.describe, only intelligence will prevent these attacks? Absolutely,

:10:31. > :10:34.intelligence agencies, sharing intelligence between various

:10:35. > :10:39.countries, that is key. You may have seen, I have on Twitter, various

:10:40. > :10:46.names touted as the identity of the individual behind the attacks today.

:10:47. > :10:50.And so, again, one must be cautious but agencies have sufficient

:10:51. > :10:53.intelligence and many of those that have had those horrific attacks have

:10:54. > :11:00.been known to a greater or lesser degree by agencies. The problem that

:11:01. > :11:04.we face is one of resource. For those agencies, being able to

:11:05. > :11:14.monitor and keep watch in various different forms. Those who could be

:11:15. > :11:20.a potential risk to us. Will Geddes, it's good to have your time this

:11:21. > :11:26.evening. The terrorism and security expert, who, by chance, is in

:11:27. > :11:30.Barcelona. We are sadly well used to talking to Will Geddes in events

:11:31. > :11:34.like this, and by chance he is in that Spanish city tonight and was

:11:35. > :11:38.able to speak to us. There is actually a couple of important lines

:11:39. > :11:43.coming from the Catalan police in the last few moments. And Reuters

:11:44. > :11:47.News Agency. They say that police are telling them that they have

:11:48. > :11:54.arrested one man. So, Catalan police telling Reuters News Agency that

:11:55. > :11:58.they have arrested one man. Also, an important caveat, because they are

:11:59. > :12:02.saying, police are saying, there is nobody held up in a bar in

:12:03. > :12:10.Barcelona, and that is interesting. They are responding to several hours

:12:11. > :12:14.of response in Pat -- reports in Spanish media that two men were

:12:15. > :12:18.holding people in a bar. That came through in the last couple of hours

:12:19. > :12:22.and Spanish media have consistently reported that and it appears Catalan

:12:23. > :12:26.police wanted to explain that that element was not correct. So, police

:12:27. > :12:32.are adamant that there is nobody being held up in a bar in Barcelona.

:12:33. > :12:38.But just in the last few minutes, police have said that they have

:12:39. > :12:43.arrested one man. Our correspondent Tom Burridge has been following this

:12:44. > :12:49.year in the BBC Studios as well. Tom, you are very familiar with the

:12:50. > :12:54.country too. Probably worth drawing breath for a moment. Firstly, as

:12:55. > :13:02.ever, explaining exactly what police are thinking is this situation right

:13:03. > :13:05.now? At the moment, police are not going beyond this casualty figure of

:13:06. > :13:12.one dead. But the important phrase in the statement that we got from

:13:13. > :13:16.the official from the Interior Ministry of the Catalan government,

:13:17. > :13:19.they have a devolved government, with their own police force, that

:13:20. > :13:26.was coming straight from their twitter feed. But the Catalan police

:13:27. > :13:32.said that there could be more. The Spanish media, I am on their website

:13:33. > :13:42.right now, the most read newspaper in the country, El Pais and El Mundo

:13:43. > :13:49.say that there are at least 13 people dead. And the most popular

:13:50. > :13:53.radio station. I would be very surprised if that death toll does

:13:54. > :13:57.not rise. The Catalan police force, I think, we are now getting official

:13:58. > :14:09.information from Catalan authorities, there is nobody holed

:14:10. > :14:13.up in a bar in the centre of Barcelona. They have detained one

:14:14. > :14:20.man in relation to the terror attack. It is interesting, actually,

:14:21. > :14:25.on El Mundo's website, they have published a photo of a man which

:14:26. > :14:32.they say has come directly from police, I'm not clear on whether it

:14:33. > :14:39.has come from spat-- Spanish national police or from mozos, they

:14:40. > :14:46.have a man on earth African origin with legal residency in Spain, they

:14:47. > :14:51.have a photo of a suspect, a man wanted in connection with the

:14:52. > :14:56.attack. That has been released online and we will have that photo

:14:57. > :15:01.for people to see. It seems swift, given that this only happened in the

:15:02. > :15:05.last three, maximum four hours. But it is a fast moving situation of

:15:06. > :15:13.course. There was an earlier reference to finding a van in a

:15:14. > :15:17.nearby area, not in Barcelona it self? Is a town that I am familiar

:15:18. > :15:23.with, I had colleagues who went there for a story in the last couple

:15:24. > :15:29.of years. It is a fairly small place 60 kilometres from Barcelona. Police

:15:30. > :15:34.have found the van, information is coming from the mayor there, quoted

:15:35. > :15:38.in Spanish press. You would be surprised if the basic information

:15:39. > :15:43.is incorrect, he is essentially saying that this van has been found,

:15:44. > :15:47.and it is thought that it could be linked to the attacks. At the

:15:48. > :15:54.moment, I do not think we should read too much into this van, things

:15:55. > :15:58.may become clear that actually this van has nothing to do with the

:15:59. > :16:09.attack at all, but it is part of that investigation. And that's

:16:10. > :16:17.coming from the town itself. And your thoughts on what kind of impact

:16:18. > :16:23.that this has had upon people. And relating to Spain, and what the

:16:24. > :16:27.national debate has been on terrorism and how vulnerable they

:16:28. > :16:34.feel, what are your thoughts more broadly? People will remember the

:16:35. > :16:39.bombings, several years ago, well before I was in Spain, on the train

:16:40. > :16:45.system, small trains coming into the capital of Madrid. That was the

:16:46. > :16:51.major terror attack in Spain in recent years. This does not seem on

:16:52. > :16:56.that scale by any means but clearly it is a serious attack. It will

:16:57. > :17:06.concentrate minds, I remember going around in the trade, -- in Madrid,

:17:07. > :17:10.as I was jogging, I left there two years ago or so. There have been

:17:11. > :17:15.other terror attacks in other parts of Europe. Spain had not been hit in

:17:16. > :17:24.the time that I was there, in the five years or so in Spain. There was

:17:25. > :17:35.a heavy police presence outside, the train station in the Madrid area,

:17:36. > :17:40.that area of Barcelona, it is heaving. That particular area of Las

:17:41. > :17:48.Ramblas, it is a labyrinth of tiny streets. It is a beautiful area. It

:17:49. > :17:54.is a very packed and densely packed area. Of course, Las Ramblas is one

:17:55. > :17:58.of the most famous places. A lot of locals avoid the area because it is

:17:59. > :18:04.so packed with tourists on any day. The other interesting thing is, the

:18:05. > :18:08.Catalan government, on a political step back from this, the Catalan

:18:09. > :18:11.government is planning a referendum on independence from Spain at the

:18:12. > :18:15.beginning of October. The Spanish and have said, you cannot do it, it

:18:16. > :18:20.is illegal and against the constitution. This has been dragging

:18:21. > :18:24.on for years. There a stand-off between the Catalan and Spanish

:18:25. > :18:28.government. Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish Prime Minister, is going to

:18:29. > :18:31.Barcelona now and that is not surprising. He will want to be

:18:32. > :18:36.there, it's a big incident for the country. We will get a sense of

:18:37. > :18:42.unity. Spanish media are saying in the next 12 minutes or so, we will

:18:43. > :18:47.hear from the head of the Catalan government. He is expected to give a

:18:48. > :18:51.statement, do not expect if it is delayed given the complexity and

:18:52. > :18:55.lack of clarity and how things are only just becoming clearer by the

:18:56. > :19:00.minute. Once he gets a statement, then we will get some actual

:19:01. > :19:04.concrete facts wrong authorities. And the fact that he is giving a

:19:05. > :19:07.statement, I guess it means that authorities are getting a hand on

:19:08. > :19:11.the situation, and they know the facts on the ground. We will keep an

:19:12. > :19:16.eye. Thank you. I know that you will be staying with us, Tom Burridge. A

:19:17. > :19:20.suggestion that there will be a statement from Catalan police at

:19:21. > :19:25.half-past. Keep an eye on that and see whether further details are

:19:26. > :19:29.given in the news briefing. Let's speak to another eyewitness in

:19:30. > :19:34.Barcelona at the moment. Charlie Parsons joins me on the phone. Thank

:19:35. > :19:40.you for talking to the BBC. What have you experienced in Barcelona

:19:41. > :19:45.today? I was cycling up Las Ramblas when suddenly a huge crowd rushed

:19:46. > :19:51.into me, about ten or 20 metres in front of me. You freeze when that

:19:52. > :19:57.happens. Obviously something was happening, there was screaming. I

:19:58. > :20:01.froze, I was actually on a city bike that I needed to return. That was my

:20:02. > :20:07.first thought and then I thought, I have to get to safety. I walked down

:20:08. > :20:10.Las Ramblas, passing three or four people who had something that had

:20:11. > :20:14.happened to them. There was blood, I could see them on the ground. I

:20:15. > :20:20.showed it in a shop as it was closing its metal blinds. It was

:20:21. > :20:28.quite a scary moment. Did you begin to understand what was happening or

:20:29. > :20:32.was its sheer confusion? Obviously something had happened, I could hear

:20:33. > :20:36.shots, it may have been police. I assumed it was gunfire of some kind.

:20:37. > :20:42.There was clearly something awful that had happened. Having been in

:20:43. > :20:47.London when the most recent London Bridge attack happened, I recognised

:20:48. > :20:53.what it was. Your reaction is weird. You freeze, and I can literally

:20:54. > :20:57.think of the time I went in... I went into the shop as they were

:20:58. > :21:05.closing the shutters, as I say. Your first thought is, my God, what was

:21:06. > :21:08.that about? In the shop, people were actually crying. I think some people

:21:09. > :21:14.may have had friends outside who did not get in before the shuttle was

:21:15. > :21:20.closing. I was thinking... This is awful. It was the scariest thing

:21:21. > :21:25.that has happened in my life, for sure. Given that, it's very good of

:21:26. > :21:30.you to talk to us, Charlie. Do you feel able to assess what the mood is

:21:31. > :21:35.now? Admittedly, still only a few hours later, but have you been able

:21:36. > :21:42.to get a sense of what local people are thinking and feeling about this?

:21:43. > :21:45.Not just tourists? I don't know. I walked out the back door of this

:21:46. > :21:51.place about 15 minutes after I had gone in. It was weird, it was

:21:52. > :21:57.obviously before it had got to the news. So nobody was even really

:21:58. > :22:06.aware of it. Barcelona life, which is very busy, was just continuing. I

:22:07. > :22:09.don't know. Knowing from London, people will get on with their

:22:10. > :22:14.business, they will not let it affect them. They did not seem to be

:22:15. > :22:19.an error of panic, even though by the time I had to go up and around,

:22:20. > :22:26.to get to where I was staying, and played a Catalina -- plaque at the

:22:27. > :22:34.Catalunya was closed, people were just walking. It was scary in the

:22:35. > :22:39.moment, the people may be curious about what had happened. I am sat on

:22:40. > :22:46.a roof terrace and a helicopter has been circling since the incident,

:22:47. > :22:51.looking for something. You can hear police sirens and ambulances that

:22:52. > :22:56.life has to go on. I feel like staying in. I do not want to be

:22:57. > :23:00.going out tonight, that is how I feel. It's really good of you to

:23:01. > :23:05.speak to us. Thank you very much indeed. Charlie Parsons talking to

:23:06. > :23:09.us from Barcelona, and explaining what he has experienced like so many

:23:10. > :23:22.others in the last few hours in the Spanish city. Now, the Catalan

:23:23. > :23:26.government has been putting updates on Twitter, and as we are now

:23:27. > :23:29.familiar with, it is often on social media but announcements are made in

:23:30. > :23:33.relation to these investigations and it is worth telling you that the

:23:34. > :23:40.Catalan government is now saying on Twitter that there is confirmation,

:23:41. > :23:45.sadly, that 13 people have died. At least 50 have been injured. This is

:23:46. > :23:50.what they have been putting on to their Twitter, 13 people have been

:23:51. > :23:54.killed and at least 50 are injured. Those are similar to the kinds of

:23:55. > :23:58.figures that Spanish media have sadly been reporting in the last

:23:59. > :24:02.couple of hours but we have only just had that confirmed. The Catalan

:24:03. > :24:08.government have confirmed 13 people are dead and at least 50 injured. We

:24:09. > :24:11.know, in the last little while, that one person has been arrested. Police

:24:12. > :24:18.announced that in the last little while. One man has been arrested.

:24:19. > :24:23.Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, issued a brief statement.

:24:24. > :24:27.INAUDIBLE In response to that terror attack in

:24:28. > :24:34.Barcelona. The British Prime Minister says that the UK stands

:24:35. > :24:39.with Spain against terror. Donald Trump, from the US, has said that

:24:40. > :24:49.America stands ready to help Spanish authorities after today's attack.

:24:50. > :24:53.Just a final thought from you, just for now, Tom Burridge, a BBC

:24:54. > :24:59.correspondent in Spain for several years. One person has been arrested

:25:00. > :25:03.but grim news in terms of the death toll so far? A sad night for

:25:04. > :25:08.Barcelona and Spain. It is a great city. I am genuinely gutted that

:25:09. > :25:15.this has happened. As you say, this is coming in, a beneficial from the

:25:16. > :25:21.Catalan government, 13 confirmed dead and 50 injured. I think that we

:25:22. > :25:27.will have two, over time, see how seriously injured those people are

:25:28. > :25:32.and whether the death toll will rise further. I am also reading that the

:25:33. > :25:38.part of the city there is in lockdown and police have evacuated

:25:39. > :25:43.bars and cafes. I think that the situation is currently ongoing and

:25:44. > :25:48.facts are still coming out. Tom Burridge will stay with us, there

:25:49. > :25:51.are suggestions that there may be another police update at half-past.

:25:52. > :25:56.We will bring you any details that police give us there. You are

:25:57. > :26:02.watching BBC News with continued coverage of a grim day in Barcelona,

:26:03. > :26:06.a terrorist attack that has claimed 13 lives, and left at least 50

:26:07. > :26:15.people injured. You are watching BBC News. We are, of course, staying

:26:16. > :26:20.with this story throughout here on the BBC. In the wake of that terror

:26:21. > :26:25.attack in Barcelona. One man has been arrested. Police have confirmed

:26:26. > :26:35.that in the last hour. Let's talk to marry Emma Garrow, a journalist

:26:36. > :26:40.there and a journalist in terror and security issues. Thanks for being

:26:41. > :26:44.with us on the BBC. Given what we know about terror attack so far, in

:26:45. > :26:47.van apparently weaving through pedestrians, according to one

:26:48. > :26:56.witness, what are your thoughts about what has gone on here in

:26:57. > :27:01.Barcelona? Hello, firstly, we have to consider that in Catalunya, there

:27:02. > :27:12.is a level four or five terror alert. One year ago, Isis threatened

:27:13. > :27:18.to attack, among other European cities. It means the threat of a

:27:19. > :27:26.terror attack in Barcelona, it was really high, according to Spanish

:27:27. > :27:31.national police and Catalan police. It is because, due to some key

:27:32. > :27:43.points, it makes Catalunya different to other Spanish regimes. Firstly,

:27:44. > :27:49.we must consider that in Catalunya, there are more than 500,000 Muslim

:27:50. > :27:59.people and 90% of them come from Morocco. Compared to 1,800,000

:28:00. > :28:05.people living in Spain. Of course, it means the risk, according to

:28:06. > :28:09.numbers, is higher in Catalunya. Another key point we have to

:28:10. > :28:14.consider is that in Catalunya we have a second generation of Muslims,

:28:15. > :28:20.living in the region. Something that you can find in other parts of

:28:21. > :28:24.Spain. That is due to the fact that people from Morocco moved to

:28:25. > :28:35.Catalunya earlier this part of Spain. In some places, not in

:28:36. > :28:47.Barcelona but in other smaller places, you can find Muslim people

:28:48. > :28:51.living in very poor conditions. And some especially young people try and

:28:52. > :28:57.find something to identify themselves. Of course, they can fall

:28:58. > :29:03.into this, of course. Just to come in here, the Catalan police have

:29:04. > :29:07.said several times in the last few hours that they simply do not know

:29:08. > :29:14.the motive for this attack, and they are not commenting on any motor that

:29:15. > :29:18.the moment, they have said on a number of occasions. People watching

:29:19. > :29:22.will be interested in that you say that Barcelona has been on a high

:29:23. > :29:27.level of alert, level four. People watching may therefore think, should

:29:28. > :29:33.there have been greater security? What sort of failure of intelligence

:29:34. > :29:39.has gone on here? Has there been a failure of intelligence? If the

:29:40. > :29:46.threat level was so high, and sadly, this has still happened. We have to

:29:47. > :29:54.consider that, first of all, the most important terror attack in

:29:55. > :30:03.Europe happened in Madrid, at the train station. To be honest, Spanish

:30:04. > :30:09.police and Catalan police, they have done great work in the last 15 days.

:30:10. > :30:14.To be honest, people in Catalunya and in Spain, if you talk to normal

:30:15. > :30:23.people, they do not think that something like this could happen, of

:30:24. > :30:26.course. I speak with my colleagues and friends, nobody thought that

:30:27. > :30:38.something like this could happen in Barcelona. So maybe something

:30:39. > :30:46.happened, talking about measures taken either police, it's really

:30:47. > :30:54.important to discover which kind of terror attacks we are talking about.

:30:55. > :31:06.If it is an organised attack, or not, or just one or two people

:31:07. > :31:15.working alone. We have to consider that, two years ago in 2004, the

:31:16. > :31:23.most important operation against terrorism in Barcelona, they

:31:24. > :31:35.discovered that the leader of this operation was a Spanish mayor. He

:31:36. > :31:43.was a normal man, and because they were fascinated by this kind of

:31:44. > :31:48.religion. It was a fractured organisation leading to Isis in

:31:49. > :31:52.Barcelona. The risk, in this way, wasn't so high. So it's really

:31:53. > :31:57.important to discover which is behind this attack in Barcelona.

:31:58. > :32:10.Thank you for your thoughts. A journalist based in Barcelona,

:32:11. > :32:19.specialising on terrorist issues. You're watching the BBC News

:32:20. > :32:20.special. Police have said they are dealing with an ongoing terrorist

:32:21. > :32:26.attack. A van has ploughed

:32:27. > :32:27.into pedestrians in one of the busiest tourist

:32:28. > :32:37.areas of the city. The Catalan government officials

:32:38. > :32:45.have said that 13 people have been killed, at least 50 injured. It

:32:46. > :32:49.happened in the busy tourist district or Las Ramblas. It is a

:32:50. > :33:00.major thoroughfare are particularly popular with tourists because of

:33:01. > :33:04.bars and restaurants. Police have confirmed that one man has been

:33:05. > :33:09.arrested, and witnesses have spoken about hundreds of people running

:33:10. > :33:18.down the streets, some hid in shops. We spoke to one man who was

:33:19. > :33:26.sheltering in Dutch auction -- in a church with 80 other people. Reports

:33:27. > :33:30.that two armed men had been holding hostages in a bar but police have

:33:31. > :33:38.said that is not accurate and nobody is being held anywhere. We can get

:33:39. > :33:47.some international reaction to this terrorist attack. Speaking in

:33:48. > :33:51.London, Theresa May said her thoughts are with the victims of

:33:52. > :33:56.that terrible attack. She simply United Kingdom stands with Spain

:33:57. > :33:59.against terror. President Trump said that the United States condemned the

:34:00. > :34:12.attack in Barcelona and will do what ever business of Surrey -- whatever

:34:13. > :34:16.is necessary one woman in Barcelona described the chaotic atmosphere as

:34:17. > :34:27.the incident unfolded a few hours ago. Complete confusion. The police

:34:28. > :34:33.or -- ordered us to close restaurants. You are panicking and

:34:34. > :34:39.do not know how to react. We have closed the buildings. Doors are

:34:40. > :34:44.bolted. Nobody can get out. It is complete panic. We do not know what

:34:45. > :34:50.has happened. On the television we can see the crash but we do not know

:34:51. > :34:55.any more than that. That was one young woman speaking to the Spanish

:34:56. > :34:58.media. We have been talking to a British man in the city and the

:34:59. > :35:09.discrete sheltering with other people at the nearby bakery. We were

:35:10. > :35:15.in a large, open market area, off Las Ramblas when a very large number

:35:16. > :35:26.of people ran into the market. Big wave. Are lots of screaming and

:35:27. > :35:32.shouting. We ran into the bakery with four, five other people,

:35:33. > :35:37.upstairs. Hunkered down. Ban enormous amount of people went

:35:38. > :35:40.through the market. Coming from England it was remaining me of what

:35:41. > :35:52.happened in London. We were very concerned. A lady said she heard

:35:53. > :35:56.gunshots. We didn't know what was going on. A second wave came

:35:57. > :36:01.through. A lot more screaming and shouting, followed by armed police

:36:02. > :36:13.who seem to be sweeping the area, looking very cautiously. And then

:36:14. > :36:16.they disappeared along one of the many alleyways off the market area.

:36:17. > :36:28.We sat for 30, 45 minutes. Sirens, screaming. A few other waves of

:36:29. > :36:33.people from directions. A lot of confusion. And then we saw the

:36:34. > :36:42.pictures on Twitter, the incident on Las Ramblas. The place went quiet.

:36:43. > :36:51.But everybody has been evacuated away from Las Ramblas. That was a

:36:52. > :36:56.British man, on holiday in Barcelona telling us about his experiences. We

:36:57. > :36:59.are going to be speaking to a lot more people who have witnessed what

:37:00. > :37:06.has happened over the last few hours. But before we talk to more

:37:07. > :37:13.people, we have this line from a local newspaper... It is reporting

:37:14. > :37:18.that one of the attackers has died in a shoot out with police. This is

:37:19. > :37:27.coming from a local newspaper. We are trying to get more clarity. But

:37:28. > :37:29.Reuters has picked up on that. One of the local newspapers saying that

:37:30. > :37:35.one of the attackers has died in a shoot out with police. We were

:37:36. > :37:40.expecting another briefing from the authorities, possibly the police,

:37:41. > :37:48.possibly the president but we were expecting that as, at half past this

:37:49. > :37:53.hour. We may get that information. But something has been picked up on

:37:54. > :38:01.by the local newspaper, that one of the attackers has died. We will get

:38:02. > :38:14.clarity on that. I have been talking to an American tourist, Kevin, and

:38:15. > :38:25.he was having lunch at a nearby cafe, where the van hit pedestrians.

:38:26. > :38:32.We are here on honeymoon. We were eating at the market near Las

:38:33. > :38:40.Ramblas. And at the corner of that market, as we were eating, suddenly

:38:41. > :38:49.a crowd of hundreds of people came running towards us. Knocking over

:38:50. > :38:58.tables and just real panic. People running. And could you understand

:38:59. > :39:05.what was happening, did anyone know? Not at all. It was confusing but

:39:06. > :39:12.obviously people were extremely panicked. We started running as

:39:13. > :39:18.well. They were just ploughing into anyone, and as we started running

:39:19. > :39:26.out of the market that because on to -- put us onto Las Ramblas, where

:39:27. > :39:40.the crash had happened. We ran out of the market, into people laying on

:39:41. > :39:45.the street, a lot of casualties. And the first first responders were

:39:46. > :39:52.coming to the scene. And what work people saying? I have spoken to a

:39:53. > :39:59.lot of people, some talked about panic, some talked about confusion.

:40:00. > :40:08.What did people think was going on? The people who have been out there

:40:09. > :40:20.when it happened were crying. Just standing on the street, weeping. As

:40:21. > :40:24.with keynote, -- we came out, someone said they hit all the

:40:25. > :40:31.people. It was very confusing because you have a lot of activity

:40:32. > :40:34.happening on Las Ramblas, the police coming from the north side, huge

:40:35. > :40:46.crowds from that side... Also running from where the accident had

:40:47. > :40:50.just happened. And the police with assault rifles swooped the area,

:40:51. > :40:59.started searching. Everybody was panicked about which way we should

:41:00. > :41:08.go. It didn't seem clear in any direction. And you said you had

:41:09. > :41:13.chosen Barcelona for you honeymoon. Did you have any conversations as a

:41:14. > :41:18.couple about where you wanted to go, where you felt comparable? Was this

:41:19. > :41:24.something you thought about when planning? Previously, we were in

:41:25. > :41:38.London and Stockholm, and the next destination after a few -- here is

:41:39. > :41:43.Paris. These are high-profile European cities where these things

:41:44. > :41:47.can happen. But I guess you just hope it is not going to happen to

:41:48. > :41:59.the people that you love. Try to live your life. Of course. And how

:42:00. > :42:02.are you feeling? Have you managed to get away? A sense the authorities

:42:03. > :42:13.are in control? What is your feeling about being there now? We were

:42:14. > :42:19.locked down about 20 metres from the final crash site. We could see all

:42:20. > :42:30.the activity, people hiding, armed police around. They didn't want

:42:31. > :42:36.anyone to flee the area. They wanted to keep the streets clear. A tense

:42:37. > :42:48.90 minutes. Police helicopters overhead. Police with rifles,

:42:49. > :42:52.running and shouting. Eventually, they said the area was clear. They

:42:53. > :43:03.ran us out. But this city, it is still very tense. Metro is shut. No

:43:04. > :43:10.traffic near Placa de Catalunya. People cannot take the bus, metro

:43:11. > :43:24.home. We are doing a 6km walk home now. Kevin, there. Speaking to me

:43:25. > :43:28.about two hours ago. On honeymoon. Shaken up. Caught in that attack.

:43:29. > :43:35.Weekend a some more thoughts from our correspondent. Monitoring

:43:36. > :43:43.events. You were other correspondent in Madrid for some time. What have

:43:44. > :43:47.you got? Still waiting for that official briefing? The latest Lane

:43:48. > :43:56.is coming from the biggest newspaper in Catalonia. They have said in the

:43:57. > :44:01.last 15 minutes that one of those responsible for running people down

:44:02. > :44:12.has died, in an interchange of shots. I am translating this

:44:13. > :44:16.directly from Spanish. An exchange of gunfire, at a place... I am

:44:17. > :44:21.looking on Google. To the west of Barcelona. Basically, a suburb. That

:44:22. > :44:31.is coming from one of the Catalonia newspapers. Suggesting that one of

:44:32. > :44:38.the attackers has died. Were still waiting for this briefing to get

:44:39. > :44:45.under way. And it is interesting, one of the people driving the van...

:44:46. > :44:50.That is one of the things that we do not know, how many people were

:44:51. > :44:56.inside the vehicle? Implying that it was more than one person. This is

:44:57. > :45:00.coming out of her pretty trustworthy Catalonian newspaper. They are going

:45:01. > :45:04.to have press on the groud, more than most. You would expect the

:45:05. > :45:15.information to be more trustworthy than other sources. One of the

:45:16. > :45:23.national newspapers for Spain have actually named the guy arrested, in

:45:24. > :45:33.connection, with the attack. The suggestion that he had Moroccan

:45:34. > :45:39.origins, but was legally resident in Spain. Those are the latest lines

:45:40. > :45:43.from Spanish news. Senior representatives of the Spanish

:45:44. > :45:49.government are on the way to Barcelona. Cancelling holidays, and

:45:50. > :46:00.we think that we are going to speak to the head of the Catalonian

:46:01. > :46:05.government. Catalonia has a very devolved government, and it is

:46:06. > :46:13.interesting actually looking at Twitter, even tweeting in English.

:46:14. > :46:20.That gives you a sense of how International Barcelona is. Tonnes

:46:21. > :46:27.of tourists. Messages in Spanish, Catalonian and English. Thank you.

:46:28. > :46:30.Our correspondent who has been following this. A lot of

:46:31. > :46:40.international reaction. Picking up on that point, Barcelona is such an

:46:41. > :46:42.international city. And so many responses from European capitals.

:46:43. > :46:50.The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned what she has described

:46:51. > :46:59.as a revolting a tack, thinking with profound sadness of the victims of

:47:00. > :47:02.this revolting attack. Solidarity and friendship with the Spanish

:47:03. > :47:13.people. That was from Germany. We have also heard from the French

:47:14. > :47:16.President Macron, saying that France remains united and determined. He

:47:17. > :47:24.said it was a tragic attack and his thoughts were with the victims.

:47:25. > :47:35.Similar thoughts from Theresa May, pledging help. She said that the

:47:36. > :47:40.United Kingdom stands with Spain. Reaction from many European

:47:41. > :47:43.capitals. The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been responding to

:47:44. > :47:51.the attack as well. This is what he had to say. We offer condolences to

:47:52. > :47:56.the loss of life and injuries that have occurred to so many innocent

:47:57. > :48:01.people yet again. We will continue to monitor the situation and we

:48:02. > :48:09.stand ready to assist one force and national security in Spain.

:48:10. > :48:12.Consulates at Spain and the international team are currently

:48:13. > :48:20.assisting Americans in Spain affected by these events. We ask

:48:21. > :48:27.citizens to know your loved ones you are safe. Terrorists should know

:48:28. > :48:37.that we are determined to find you and bring you to justice. Rex

:48:38. > :48:40.Tillerson, the American Secretary of State, bringing reaction to what we

:48:41. > :48:45.have witnessed over the last few hours. And some reaction to what are

:48:46. > :48:50.correspondent has said, the reports from Spanish media. Referencing some

:48:51. > :48:58.images that have been circulating, we can just show you one of those

:48:59. > :49:05.images. We have had access to this and this has just been released by

:49:06. > :49:13.Spanish police. Spanish police say this is the man alleged to have

:49:14. > :49:20.rented the van used to have killed a a significant number of people. This

:49:21. > :49:24.is the man alleged to have rented the van, used to mow down people in

:49:25. > :49:35.Las Ramblas. The police have said that he is a suspect. This image has

:49:36. > :49:44.been released by Spanish police and they said that this is the man who

:49:45. > :49:49.rented the van, the van swerved to mow down people. The Catalonian

:49:50. > :49:55.government has said that 13 have died, at least 50 injured. That

:49:56. > :49:59.statistic is only from the Catalonian government, it could be

:50:00. > :50:04.that those injured have been taken to a number of hospitals across the

:50:05. > :50:08.region. We have not heard anything from the hospitals, it could be that

:50:09. > :50:16.an awful what emerges from other sources. But the Catalonian

:50:17. > :50:20.government has said that the death toll stands at 13, at least 50

:50:21. > :50:30.injured. We have been talking to a large number of eyewitnesses over

:50:31. > :50:35.the last few hours. Another was Patricia from Somerset. She was in

:50:36. > :50:48.the area when the attack began. I was just walking to Placa de

:50:49. > :50:55.Catalunya, to go to Burger King. We heard a crash. Thought it was a

:50:56. > :51:02.bomb. We hid under tables. Held up in till they let us out. How long

:51:03. > :51:08.were you in for? It was probably a couple of hours. And the police

:51:09. > :51:16.escorted us in groups. What was going through your mind? Just happy

:51:17. > :51:25.to be alive. We were worried that they were going to get in. Happy to

:51:26. > :51:29.be safe. That was a British tourist, who witnessed the events that

:51:30. > :51:34.Barcelona. I have also been speaking to an American tourist, he described

:51:35. > :51:48.the moment he realised something was wrong. Hi. This afternoon, I came in

:51:49. > :51:55.on a flight and I was in a taxi, coming on to Las Ramblas. Possibly

:51:56. > :52:04.just a block from my hotel. I was looking at the Boulevard, everybody

:52:05. > :52:09.was shopping. And then I heard this group of people scream, at the same

:52:10. > :52:16.time. You just do not think about this, naturally. I would to my left

:52:17. > :52:24.hand side and I could see a white van, and it was going, I thought it

:52:25. > :52:35.was maybe just somebody working, driving, service vehicle. But I

:52:36. > :52:38.realised that it was going entirely too fast, it looked to me like he

:52:39. > :52:44.was going left to right, hitting people at stands where they were

:52:45. > :52:49.shopping. People were just screaming and running. My taxi stopped.

:52:50. > :52:56.Immediately we knew what was going on. We waited for several seconds

:52:57. > :53:06.and my taxi driver just after saying oh my god. I was in shock. We turned

:53:07. > :53:11.round the corner. I was literally at my hotel. I ran inside. Everybody

:53:12. > :53:21.was running into any space they could find safety. Running into the

:53:22. > :53:25.hotel and screaming. I turned round. People were starting to run the

:53:26. > :53:33.other way. The hotel staff put me behind the desk. At that point, it

:53:34. > :53:40.just seemed surreal. Then they got us all together into a ballroom.

:53:41. > :53:49.That was just off the entrance. To me... That didn't feel safe. Nobody

:53:50. > :53:56.was armed to protect the people. I left the room, and they gave me a

:53:57. > :54:01.room key. I thought that I would rather be one person in one room

:54:02. > :54:07.rather than one person with hundreds of others. And I am looking out of

:54:08. > :54:12.the hotel and I can see everybody looking out of windows, wondering

:54:13. > :54:18.what now? In terms of what you are going to do next, you are having to

:54:19. > :54:22.base your action on watching television, social media? Do you

:54:23. > :54:34.speak the language? Do you feel cut off? I do speak Spanish. And more

:54:35. > :54:42.than anything, when you say that and I turned the corner... I do not know

:54:43. > :54:50.what I was thinking. Maybe people got out the way! But then I looked,

:54:51. > :54:56.and I just saw this woman on the ground, blood... I just thought this

:54:57. > :55:00.is going to be really bad. Apparently, I am watching the BBC

:55:01. > :55:07.just now and apparently somebody is holed up nearby. I am just going to

:55:08. > :55:18.stay in this room for the evening. I do not think anywhere I need to go

:55:19. > :55:25.that bad. After what we have seen in various European countries over the

:55:26. > :55:30.last few months, any qualms about being in Barcelona? It is an

:55:31. > :55:34.interesting question. It was in the back of my mind when I arrived. Not

:55:35. > :55:40.necessarily Barcelona, but it was in the back of my mind. Thinking is

:55:41. > :55:46.this safe? You never think it is going to happen to you, that going

:55:47. > :55:53.to see that. You think you're just going to say this on the news. When

:55:54. > :56:00.you do... It is just so surreal. You cannot even process it. Obviously,

:56:01. > :56:04.always the question about whether people should stay home. But life

:56:05. > :56:10.goes on. It was definitely the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen

:56:11. > :56:17.in my life. That was an American to rest -- tourist, making reference to

:56:18. > :56:24.watching television, that people were being held up in a bar. But the

:56:25. > :56:28.police have categorically say that is not true. It was circulating but

:56:29. > :56:35.the police have said it was not the case. Another American tourist was

:56:36. > :56:43.in a shop when the attack happened and described the stampede as people

:56:44. > :56:53.ran. I was trying to make a purchase, and they said nobody can

:56:54. > :56:59.leave. Then they said if you want to, you can. Bad idea. People were

:57:00. > :57:06.scared, running towards my general direction. I did a 180 turn. Ran

:57:07. > :57:15.into a random apartment block. Block of flats. Ran up some stairs. I

:57:16. > :57:21.thought it was probably not a good idea to be close to any windows.

:57:22. > :57:29.Stayed on the ground floor. We were waiting for the police, a number of

:57:30. > :57:33.people scared for over an hour. Eventually they told us that we

:57:34. > :57:41.could leave, we walked. It was a pretty generally horrible

:57:42. > :57:45.experience. That was one of the many American tourists we have been

:57:46. > :57:51.talking to. And a British man spoke to me, he was in the middle of the

:57:52. > :57:59.city when the attack began. It is a beautiful sunny day and Las Ramblas

:58:00. > :58:03.is in the heart of the city. It is jam-packed. I was about to sit down

:58:04. > :58:11.and have something to eat. The next thing, seconds later, the crashing

:58:12. > :58:17.noise. The whole street. Screaming. Everybody started running. I started

:58:18. > :58:21.to run in the same direction. Families, screaming. Kids out of

:58:22. > :58:27.prams. And after seconds, police officers were out. When I arrived in

:58:28. > :58:35.the city yesterday, I noticed the heavy police presence. After

:58:36. > :58:41.literally seconds, guns out, ambulances and fire engines. At the

:58:42. > :58:49.top of the street, vans. I tried to get into a shop. People were

:58:50. > :58:58.screaming. I spoke to a shopkeeper and he said he thought he had seen a

:58:59. > :59:02.van driven into the crowd, five, six seriously injured. At that point

:59:03. > :59:07.that ambulances and fire brigade were on the scene, and police with

:59:08. > :59:13.machine guns. People were panicking. We were pushed back and pushed back

:59:14. > :59:18.again. The police are absolutely everywhere at the moment. That was a

:59:19. > :59:23.British man speaking to me, a British lawyer in Barcelona. We're

:59:24. > :59:34.going to keep you up-to-date with the story, the dreadful news about

:59:35. > :59:45.another terrorist attacked in Europe. One man has been arrested

:59:46. > :59:47.after a van ploughed into pedestrians at Las Ramblas in

:59:48. > :59:55.Barcelona. The Catalonian government has said 13 have died, at least 50

:59:56. > :00:02.injured. And reports across the Spanish media of one attacker being

:00:03. > :00:05.killed in a shoot out with police. Continuing coverage here on BBC

:00:06. > :00:17.News. Hello, I'm Philippa Thomas and you

:00:18. > :00:22.are watching Outside Source. Terror on the streets of Barcelona is a van

:00:23. > :00:25.ploughs into a crowd in the popular tourist area of Las Ramblas. The

:00:26. > :00:32.Catalan government says 13 people are dead. The police shouted at

:00:33. > :00:37.everyone just to run. There was a really loud kind of crashing noise.

:00:38. > :00:42.I mean, I didn't stop to look back. It was just an immediate stampede in

:00:43. > :00:47.the opposite direction. Catalan police confirmed they are treating

:00:48. > :00:48.it as a terror attack. Within the last hour, they have made an