At least 13 people are dead and 80 are injured, after a van mounted the pavement and ploughed into pedestrians in Barcelona's historic Las Ramblas district.
Key points:- A van drove into pedestrians in a busy tourist district in Barcelona
- Two people were seen fleeing the vehicle, local media reported
- Catalan police confirm the incident is being treated as a terror attack
Catalan police have confirmed they have arrested two men in relation to the crash, and the incident is being treated as a terror attack.
Carles Puigdemont, Catalonia's regional head, said 80 people had been hospitalised. "Unfortunately the number of fatalities will likely rise," Catalonia's regional interior chief Joaquim Forn said during a news conference.
Police also confirmed a driver ran into two policemen at a checkpoint earlier on Thursday (local time), but did not indicate if the two incidents were related.
Media reports said the van had zigzagged at speed down the famous Las Ramblas avenue, a magnet for tourists."I heard screams and a bit of a crash and then I just saw the crowd parting and this van going full pelt down the middle of the Ramblas," eyewitness Tom Gueller told the BBC.
"I immediately knew that it was a terrorist attack or something like that.
"It wasn't slowing down at all. It was just going straight through the middle of the crowds in the middle of the Ramblas."
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack via its Amaq propaganda arm.