Barcelona terror attack: Manhunt after van ploughs into crowd at Las Ramblas, killing ‘at least 13

A white van ploughed into a packed summer crowd this evening in Barcelona’s historic Las Ramblas district. Barcelona police called it a terror attack and local media reported 13 dead and dozens more injured.

There are also reports of a live hostage incident at a Turkish restaurant near the scene. 

Catalan police tweeted “there are mortal victims and injured from the crash” without specifying any numbers. Spanish media, including Cadena SER radio station and TV3, reported up to 13 dead, while other media had varying death tolls.

Quoting unnamed police sources, the El Pais newspapers said the two perpetrators of the crash were holed up in a bar in Tallers Street. Armed police ran down the streets and through a market, checking in stores and cafes, presumably in search of them.

Barcelona’s Tv3 reports that the Spanish passport of a person of Moroccan origin was found at the scene of the attack. 

London stands with Barcelona. Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has tweeted: 

@SadiqKhan My thoughts are with the victims of this barbaric terrorist attack in the great city of Barcelona and with their brave emergency services. 

Perhaps Barcelona, while ancient and great, is not quite big enough to have to accept terrorist attacks as part and parcel of everyday city life. 

TV3 says it now has official confirmation that thirteen people are dead. It also says there are dozens of injured.

Eyewitness Lourdes Porcar told TV3 television station that she saw the van running people over. “It was going very fast, without caring about who was in its way,” she said.

Reuters, citing local authorities, reports that a second van has been found by police in the town of Vic, north of Barcelona.

The Jerusalem Post reports that the attack occured outside a kosher resturant, near a halal resturant. However the Chief Rabbi of Barcelona, who is on the spot giving pastoral care, said it doesn’t appear to be an attack specifically targetting Jews.