17/08/2017 Outside Source

Hello, I'm Philippa Thomas and you are watching Outside Source. Terror

on the streets of Barcelona as a van ploughs into a crowd in the popular

tourist area of Las Ramblas. The Catalan government is at least 12

are dead. He looked as if he was going from left to right, hitting

people with a little stands. There were people shopping, basically, and

people were screaming and running. Catalan police say this was a terror

attack. With the past few minutes they say two people have been

arrested. -- within the past two minutes.

Welcome to Outside Source. We are continuing our live coverage of the

terror attack in Spain, where a van has driven into crowds killing at

least 12 or 13 people. To recap what we know, this happened in Barcelona

in the north-east of Spain, and in fact, if I take you into the city,

we can show you the area involved. Those of you who have been there

will know that Las Ramblas is a real tourist hotspot, always very busy. A

white van mounted the pavement and drove into pedestrians. We believe

13 have been killed, more than 50 others injured. According to police,

this is how it happened. The van entered an area at the top of the

strip from the north side and careered down at speed coming to

about halfway down the strip of Las Ramblas. To give you an idea of how

busy this area always is, here is a picture from its just yesterday.

Packed with residents and tourists. On Twitter they have confirmed they

have arrested one person. They've also said that despite the reports

that so frightened people in the city over the last few hours, there

are no other gunmen in a bar and no hostage situation. Another fact we

can bring you that -- that we can bring you - this man rented the van

involved in the incident, Driss Oubakir. This has officially been

named a terrorist attack. I just want to bring you some of the

reaction coming in. Barack Obama, the former US president, of course -

Michelle and I are thinking of the victims. Americans will always stand

with our Spanish friends. The government and people of Ireland

stand with the people of Barcelona. We offer sympathy, solidarity and

support. Emmanuel Macron. Of course France has seen so much terror in

the last few years. Solidarity with Barcelona and we stand with you. We

are by your side. The Catalan government, we have referred to them

already saying all of us will join together to defeat the violence.

Barcelona is a city of peace. I was telling you just a minute ago that

in Las Ramblas there are always foreign tourists. It is very

popular, a very busy area, and the driver of the value exactly what he

was doing when he there. -- the driver of the van knew exactly what

he was doing. One witness told us what she saw. We were in a market

which is on Las Ramblas and we were about to go back onto the Main

Street. We stopped to look at some cakes in the bakery and suddenly

there was screaming and hundreds of people just swarmed towards the

screaming, and running and lots of confusion. We ran into the bakery

and ran upstairs to hide. As we looked out the window people were

still running through the market. There were hundreds and hundreds of

people running through the market. Shutters were coming down. Lots of

screaming and running. Then we waited a few minutes for things to

come down and we were told we could go out, so we went back out into the

market and a second wave hit, and we were told it wasn't safe, we had to

get back inside. The police swept through the market with guns, and

from where we were, we could see through the market, and there were

about seven police officers with guns rounding around a doorway, and

that's the point when we just hid under the table upstairs in the

bakery and we just waited to hear. There was a woman waiting with us

saying she had one off Las Ramblas and she had heard gunshots. We were

there for about 40 minutes, I think, hiding, and then we were told it was

safe to come out but we must move away from the area. I am just into

bring you some more news coming in. This is very much developing. Two

people have been arrested after the attack. This seems to have been

related to what happened. The van going down Las Ramblas, the Catalan

police confirming a driver ran into two policeman at a Barcelona

checkpoint earlier on Thursday. This appeared to happen at a street

nearby, a main thoroughfare, so we will learn more about that and it

might be that that is how the driver was trying to get away. The Spanish

Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy con is on his way to Barcelona, and we have

heard from the Russian president calling for the world to unite in an

uncompromising battle against the forces of terror. That coming from

the Kremlin. Something else I should tell you, although I am just going

to tell you this has just popped up on the BBC Live page online.

So-called Islamic State are claiming responsibility. That is a claim

being made by the IS-linked news page. I'm not going to give that

credibility. But no further claims of responsibility. For the time

being, that's get you more from the ground about what is happening in

Barcelona because the situation is not entirely calm and a lot of

people, a lot of nerves on edge. Guy, can you tell us what you know

about the situation now? I am in the capital, Madrid, at the moment. I

have been following events from Madrid rather than in Barcelona. But

what I can say is there is a great deal of confusion and we've also

been hearing conflicting numbers of people killed, the injuries. We've

heard from the Catalan regional premiere, who confirmed that figure

of 13 killed. 80 people injured, he said. Several of those are serious.

The latest reports we've heard from some media are that a suspect was

killed in a shoot out with police after running over that police man

in a control point. But a great deal of confusion and we are waiting for

further confirmation from authorities. I just refer to a claim

of responsibility that seems to have popped up possibly from the

so-called Islamic State. We don't know yet but there must be a lot

being said in Spain by politicians and the media about who this could

have been. Yes, on the part of police there was some caution when

the attack took place regarding whether it was a terrorist attack or

not. They quite soon confirmed that it was. But in terms of authorship,

we haven't heard any theories being spoken about by the authorities or

by the police yet. I think, yes, it is important to say we don't know.

The police haven't said anything about this and the government hasn't

said anything about this yet. I take what you say about the fact that you

are monitoring this from Madrid. I presume in Madrid 's security will

be pretty tight, because with situations and events like this, you

don't know whether there will be anything related unfolding. Exactly.

That's right. I think even in Madrid, people have been rather

nervous about events unfolding in Barcelona. In the last year or two

we have seen a heavy police presence on the streets and in airports and

in railway stations, particularly in the summer months, when there are

lots of people out on the streets. We've seen a big armed police

presence already so it seems to be something they are prepared for.

Both in Madrid and Barcelona and other cities across Spain. So

obviously people are nervous and they've been following the events in

Barcelona is very closely. Many people here in Madrid. Thank you for

bringing us up to date and monitoring the situation in Madrid

for us, what is being said in Spain about this. If you are just joining

us, I want to remind you of our main story. A van has driven into crowds

killing 12 or 13 people in Barcelona, Spain, and injuring 50 at

least. Tom Markwell is a tourist from New Orleans who had just

arrived in the city when the attack began unfolding in front of him.

This is what he saw. This afternoon, I came in on a flight and I was in a

taxi just turning onto Las Ramblas and maybe just a block and a half

from my hotel. I was just looking at the boulevard,

from the back of the taxi. And then I heard this group

of people scream at the same time. And you just don't think

of this, naturally. And then I looked to my left,

and I saw a white van with its front At first I thought it must be

somebody just working and driving, Then I realised he was

going entirely too fast. It looked to me as if he was

going left-to-right, There were people

shopping, basically. And all of a sudden people were just

screaming and running. We knew immediately,

you know, naturally, what was happening and what was

going on at that moment. And my taxi driver just started

saying, oh my God, oh my God. And then we just turned

right around the corner, And then everyone was running

into any space, of course, And they were coming

into the hotel and screaming. Interestingly, I turned around

and they were starting And that was when the hotel staff

put me behind the front They got all of us

together into a ballroom, just in the entrance

of the hotel, which to me didn't feel safe at all because

there was really no... There was nobody armed

to protect the room of people. And for better or for worse,

I left the room and I said, They gave me a key

and I came upstairs. I figured I would rather be one

person in hundreds of rooms As I can see everybody

across at the other hotel, everybody is just watching out

of their window, watching, what now? Tom Markwell, one of those witnesses

who gave us his time and account of what happened. You can hear the

shakiness in his voice there, and no wonder. With me again our

correspondent Tom Burridge. You are staying on top of this story and the

figures are changing. What is the latest? There are two different

figures for the number of people who have died. It is either 12 or 13

people dead. I think the latest figure seems to be 12. That is the

one most Spanish news sources are giving and that comes from the

Catalan government in the last hour or so. And some injured, some

seriously? Yes, it can be anybody affected, so some traumatised in the

area. They are talking about 80 people in hospital injured and 15 of

those in a very serious condition. I've seen a couple of videos which

have been sent from journalist colleagues in Spain, too graphic to

show. It is really, really shocking what has happened. A lot of people

clearly seriously injured. Including some children. So it is an

absolutely horrible scene. Going onto the investigation, at the

moment, Mossos, that is the Catalan police force, they have tweeted and

confirmed this line is that a driver ran down two Mossos police officers

at a police control in Barcelona. We believe that was on Diagonal, and

they are saying that seem to be the case. They then located the suspect,

the driver of that vehicle, in Sant Just Desvern, which is just west of

the city, a couple of kilometres outside of Barcelona, and according

to lots of reports on the Spanish media, trustworthy sources, there

was a shoot out and one suspect has been killed. Aside from that, there

are two people, coming from official information, this, coming from

police custody, one of them being the man who rented the fan who ran

people down on that area so popular with tourists in central Barcelona,

Las Ramblas. -- who rented the van. So the running on police and the

shoot out, it is not necessarily the case this was the van or the driver

who shot down... We just don't know. There are reports of the van driver

fleeing the scene on foot. Then there were these very confusing

reports which have definitely been ruled out now about people held up

in a bar, but that information seems to be incorrect. But a vehicle after

the incident, possibly a few hours as a rough time scale, went through

a police control, police followed the vehicle to the edge of Barcelona

and there was a shoot out and the police are saying one suspect has

definitely been killed. So one van involved or two vehicles. You have

also been following what has been happening in Vic. We should treat

this with a lot of caution at the moment but coming from a fairly

decent source, the mayor of the town. It is about ten climate is

outside of Barcelona and a fairly quiet place on an average day. --

ten kilometres. According to the mayor it is being considered as part

of the investigation for now. As time goes on, it could be that is

ruled out because at this stage, the police are inevitably following

every single reed and taking nothing for granted and taking no chances.

Barcelona, we're hearing some Spanish journalists on the ground,

Spanish radio, the city is really in lockdown and there is a heavy police

presence, a lot of police controls and nervousness. Tourists and locals

across the city in bars devastated about what has happened. There is

going to be a minute's silence in Plaza Catalunya, just up from Las

Ramblas, at 12pm local time tomorrow. The Mayoress has come out

saying people should not be scared tomorrow. The people of Barcelona

need to go back on the streets and show these people we are not scared.

That was the message coming from adder call-out, the mayor of

Barcelona. -- from Ada Colau. I know you will keep trying to draw the

links for us. We are going to be completely clear about what we know

and what we don't know and are trying to establish. We will bring

you any breaking news lines from Barcelona. But also I will bring you

other news from around the world. Police in the Philippines say they

have killed another 26 suspected drug dealers and arrested dozens

more and operations ordered by the president. The latest deaths mean at

least 58 have been killed in the past three days as the country's war

on drugs intensifies. One Knight, 26 dead. The war on

drugs is back with a vengeance. As so often before, the police say they

fired in self-defence. TRANSLATION: As we arrived, two men

shot at and fought our officers. That's why they were killed. The

police are calling this a one-time big-time anti-drugs and crime

operation. Another like it the night before killed 32 people. As before,

these killings occurred in poor neighbourhoods. The focus of the

drug war from its start. The president was forced to suspend the

campaign back in February after police officers were found to have

murdered a Korean businessman. But he offered no apology for restarting

it. TRANSLATION: 32 died. That's good.

If we could kill 32 every day, maybe we could fix this country. When he

launched his drugs war last year, the president promised to end the

problem within 35 and six months. He now says he was over asked --

overoptimistic. -- within three to six months. Even past the deadline,

the killing goes on. And back to our main story. We are

going to keep you updated with everything that is coming out of

Barcelona, where we are now seeing 13 people have been killed, 50

injured with a van ploughing through crowds of residents and tourists on

Las Ramblas, that very popular area for residents and tourists in the

heart of Barcelona. A lot of reaction coming from around the

world. Just remind you, from the new president of France, Emmanuel

Macron, with the French having suffered from terror attacks so much

over the last few years. He says, solidarity with Barcelona. Barack

Obama saying, Michelle and I thinking of the victims and their

families. We will always stand with our Spanish friends. The current

first Lady was very quick to say, our thoughts and prayers are with

the people of Barcelona. Just to remind you what is happening

there now. Still big security operations and a lot of fear on the

ground. I've been talking to a correspondent from BBC Persia. The

crowds were being directed out of this area up until maybe ten minutes

ago. It just shows what a massive population was in that area,

because, as we know, it is one of the most visited parts of Barcelona.

Panic still continues to be the mood because a few minutes ago, a crowd

got scared of something, we don't know what, and they started running,

and behind there were police officers with guns just right behind

me, following and chasing as if there was somebody in that crowd

that they wanted to rest. Then everybody dissipated and wasn't

clear where it all started. It just gives you a sense of how worried the

population is. You know, how word gets out something is happening and

it might be a mistake, but it creates panic. So there are choppers

overhead in the last few hours, and, as you said, right behind here is

the centre of where it all happened and there are images of police with

big guns, long guns, going from street to street, especially in the

old part of Barcelona, which is the other end of Las Ramblas, and

chasing people and making sure every house and restaurant, making sure

the person they are chasing is not there, and continuing the search. We

now have reports at least one has been arrested and that one has been

killed. It is not clear if this is the case. Nevertheless, the city of

Barcelona, where I was seven hours ago, the place where the attack

happened, has changed drastically in the last few hours, and it is just

panic with many people waiting to see where it will all wrapped up,

when it will all wrapped up, so they can go back to normal. Many cannot

go back to their hotels because it is in a cordoned area. Many hotels

are in Las Ramblas and on the boulevard where this happened, so

it's affecting many tourists as well. It is ongoing with the

investigation and the area that has been cordoned off for crowds. As you

have been talking, I've heard the sirens and seen the blue flashing

lights going by. We only have one name so far from the police, Driss

Oubakir, who they say rented the van involved, but just remind us, in the

last few hours, many in the city have been frightened because there

were rumours about gun men, about a possible hostage. Many. In fact,

many said hostage crisis was happening in a restaurant and it is

ongoing and they have big guns, two of them. None of this has turned out

to be true. So as you can imagine, a situation like this, not just word

of mouth but on social media, things get out and they are not true and

they are unconfirmed and it creates more fear in the population and you

couple that with the pictures that were released and many have seen

them. Very horrifying images of people on the ground bleeding, some

seemed to be unconscious. Exactly in the middle of Las Ramblas, where

thousands of people walk by, they know this spot, so that adds to the

feeling and the reality that this might be an ongoing situation. It

hasn't ended and there's the possibility of something else

happening, hence this crowd that just ran across the street a few

minutes ago very much panicked, not knowing why they were running but

they were running because somebody said something and everybody

followed. Our correspondent speaking to us from the scene on the edge of

Las Ramblas. In the next edition of Outside

Source, we are going to look at the security implications of who could

have been behind this. Counterterrorism strategy now. Tom

Burridge, who is checking everything out, checking Spanish radio for us

as we go through, because as I said, there is a lot of talk on Spanish

media about the one man who has been named, Driss Oubakir, the man who

rented the van that tore down Las Ramblas. He is in his 20s and was

born in Morocco. There are reports of previous activities he could have

been linked with -- linked with and we will try to flush that out. We

will be talking with a security expert as well. -- we will try to

expand that. One Belgian national is among the dead, according to the

country's Foreign Minister. We also know two people have been arrested,

according to the Catalan head. We will bring you all the key facts,

tell you what we know and what we are still trying to piece together.

Join us for the next edition of Outside Source in just a few

minutes.