Madrid (dpa) – A van crashed into a crowd of people on one of Barcelona’s busiest thoroughfares on Thursday.
Sky News reported that one person was confirmed dead however local Spanish media were reporting that as many as 12 people had been killed in what police said was a terrorist attack.
Police said on Twitter there had been multiple deaths, but did not give a number. They also said multiple people were injured.
Catalonia’s regional interior minister told a press conference that one person was confirmed dead and the number was likely to rise, with 32 reported injured.
Police tweeted that the incident in the popular Las Ramblas area was being treated as a terrorist attack and people should stay clear on the area.
Las Ramblas is the city’s most popular pedestrian thoroughfare and is frequented by tourists and locals alike.
Europe has been hit by a series of terrorist attacks using vehicles in the last two years including deadly incidents in Nice and two in London.
Videos on social media showed a van travelling with its side door wide open at high speed down a pedestrian area.
A police spokesman told dpa they are not exactly certain what happened.
“In contact with all the administrations. Priority: to attend to the injured in Las Ramblas and make the work of the security forces easier,” Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy tweeted.
Newspaper El Pais reported that two suspects in the incident had barricaded themselves in a nearby restaurant with possible hostages.
El Pais, citing police, said a Spanish passport was found inside the vehicle that hit the crowd. The paper reported that police say they are looking for a man 1.70 metres tall, wearing a white shirt with blue stripes.
El Mundo interviewed witness Erminia Mata, who spoke of “a lot of people lying on the ground, covered with blood.”
Stores on the street shuttered their windows in the wake of the incident while police were looking for the driver of the van, according to broadcasters.
A reporter on Spanish broadcaster RTVE reported a massive police operation with multiple ambulances and people running through the streets in panic. Other reports stated that most public transportation in the area had been shut down.
