at 5pm and will here with the news at 5pm and will keep you updated with all the latest development is, but from me, goodbye, and here is the weather with chris fox. terror attack in barcelona, dozens of people injured as a van ploughs into pedestrians. the van hit people on las ramblas in the city centre. the driver is said to have fled on foot. the authorities have called for the metro and railway stations in the area to be closed. these are live pictures from the scene this evening. we are also hearing reports that two and men have entered a restaurant in the area. “— have entered a restaurant in the area. —— armed men. we will bring you the latest on that developing situation in barcelona. our other main story on bbc news... a rise in the top a—level grades for the first time in six years — with boys overtaking girls in the highest grades for the first time in almost two decades. it's all about just working

it's all aboutjust working hard from day one, and being dedicated and believing in yourself. from day one, and being dedicated and believing in yourselflj from day one, and being dedicated and believing in yourself. i feel really good, it's better than what i was predicted or expected. it's good. but there was a slight fall in the top grades in england alone — in the first set of results since the exams underwent major reform. hello, and a very good evening. we start this hour with news developing just in the last half an hour or so, that a ban has crashed into dozens of people in the spanish city of barcelona. —— van. this appears to

be an ongoing and deliberate incident. in the last few minutes police in barcelona have said they are treating this as a terror incident. details still very much coming in, as you will appreciate, but we hear and local media are reporting a number of people have been injured, that is as specific as the figures are at the moment. but certainly, some people have been injured. this is the map, if you do not know barcelona it is worth saying that las ramblas is one of the most touristy parts of the city. it would have been very busy with tourists, right in the middle of the city. the spanish parring minister mariano rajoy has said that he is in contact with authorities. —— prime minister. the area would have been full and minister. the area would have been fulland in minister. the area would have been full and in the last half an hour or so we full and in the last half an hour or so we have spoken to a british tourist who is on holiday in barcelona. he said he had a lot of

noise and commotion, he hid in a bakery. and, he watched armed police. he said they were carefully combing the market stalls in the area of las ramblas and he said that his sense was that police were looking for someone or something, he did not know what at that stage but could see armed police weaving their way in and out of those market stalls. he fled to the upper floor of this bakery that he had run to, and he said one of the women in there with him said that she had heard gunshots. that is what she said to him. our correspondent richard galpin is with me, and is going through all of the information as it comes in. still the early stages now, richard. what do we know at this point? it is certainly a very serious incident and police say that they believe it is a terror attack. which group and who was responsible, we do not know at this stage. it clearly is horrific, a

white transit van mounted the pavement and ploughed into a number of people, but we do not know how many. there is video showing the front of the van, clearly badly damaged from the impact and you could see a lot of people on the ground, people trying to give them firstaid. we ground, people trying to give them first aid. we do not have casualties figures yet or know if people had been killed or whether it is only people injured. what we have subsequently heard is that police have called for the metro stations and train stations in the area to be closed. they have said someone is on the run, they believe. more recently, in the last five minutes oi’ recently, in the last five minutes orso, recently, in the last five minutes or so, there have been reports from local media that two armed men are ina local media that two armed men are in a restaurant somewhere in the area. we do not know exactly where. that is still to be confirmed but a p pa re ntly that is still to be confirmed but apparently they have weapons and it is not clear what is happening at that restaurant at this moment. is not clear what is happening at that restaurant at this momentm is worth restating that police in

the last few minutes have said that they are treating this as a terrorist incident. regrettably, it has the hallmarks of that, doesn't it? how many times have we seen in different cities in different countries a vehicle, including our own country, a vehicle used to go into a own country, a vehicle used to go intoa group own country, a vehicle used to go into a group of people, otherwise innocent people, just living or working or visiting a city? absolutely, and this area, las ramblas, is absolutely the heart of the tourist district. whoever was responsible for this clearly targeted an area where they knew that there would be a very large number of tourists and a lot of foreigners there. it's a clear target, in that sense. there had been a whole series... really, over the last 12 months or so, we had two in this country, london, nice, berlin, paris, stockholm, and now barcelona. it has been a whole series of attacks. in western

european countries over the last 12 months. but we do not know who is responsible for this attack at the moment. we are awaiting further information from authorities about it. again, the very nature of the attack, a vehicle going into pedestrians. we cannot overstate how busy that area would be in that city in august. i mean, barcelona gets 7 million, 8 million tourists visiting every year. it would have been extremely busy. if you do not know barcelona, it would be like driving a van is through piccadilly circus in london or times square in new york. it is that kind of iconic area. absolutely, eyewitnesses have said that the area was very, very busy at the time. people managed to escape, ina busy at the time. people managed to escape, in a state of shock but describing how busy the square was. it is the peak of the tourist season, school holidays, a very busy

area. one thing, obviously it may be going one step too far but we do know that in the past, spain has been attacked by islamist militants, if you go back to 2004, the madrid train bombings, they were believed to have been carried out by an al-qaeda related group which left almost 200 people dead. i would emphasise that we do not know at this stage who is responsible.“ you are just this stage who is responsible.“ you arejustjoining us, you are watching bbc news this afternoon, we are bringing you the latest details from barcelona. police say that a van who drove into pedestrians in the heart of the tourist area of las ramblas is being treated as a terrorist incident, ploughing into pedestrians. one would imagine there would have been a law of tourists in the area and local people, because of the nature of where this is. it is worth telling you that reuters news agency is talking a little more about these

reports that we have been getting, that two armed men have gone into a bar, ora that two armed men have gone into a bar, or a restaurant. that two armed men have gone into a bar, ora restaurant. reuters agency said that two armed men went into a bar. also, the same spanish media outlets talking of people hearing gunfire in the market area. that certainly tallies with something else we have heard from an eyewitness we spoke to in the last 30 minutes or so. reuters saying that they believe two armed men are ina bar that they believe two armed men are in a bar in that area. again, this ties in with the fact that, as richard was saying, authorities have ordered all local metro stations and railway stations to be closed. let's just hear a little from one british man that we spoke to in the last few minutes, his name is aamer anwar and he is in barcelona at the moment and told us what he saw. it's

a beautiful and sunny day, las ramblas is right in the heart of the city. jam—packed with thousands of tourists. i was about to sit down for something to eat, and then i decided i would walk down there, and seconds later i heard a crashing noise and i started hearing a crashing noise and people screaming. people were running into shops, families screaming and kids were taken out of their prams. within seconds, police officers were out. when i arrived in the city, i noticed that there was a heavy police presence, guns were out, ambulances and fire engines. at the top of the street, there were bands. i spoke to someone, trying to get into a shop as people were panicking. a shopkeeper said something about a van, i tried to

ask and he said that a van had driven into the crowd of five or six people. very seriously injured. at that point ambulances and the fire brigade and police officers were on the scene with machine guns and guns. very quickly, they were jittery. people were panicking. we we re jittery. people were panicking. we were pushed back. there were a critical police everywhere at the moment. that is one british man, who isa moment. that is one british man, who is a lawyer and is in barcelona at the moment, he was explaining what he had seen. this is a look at the live pictures coming into us from barcelona. again, if you arejustjoining us, i cannot stress enough these are early stages. a lot of confusion and a huge amount of police activity in that area. local railway stations are closed, the metro station closed. a lot of confusion. some people say that they heard gunshots and others that they did not. but

reuters news agency is among several saying that two armed men had entered a bar in the area. this is very much in the heart of barcelona. it is still early days. our correspondent richard galpin is monitoring the information as it comes in. for thosejustjoining us, just summarising what we know so far, as police have said they are treating it as a terrorist incident? that is what they believe it is. we know this white van ploughed into a large number of people, in the heart of the tourist district of barcelona. a lot of people were there. you can see, from video, there. you can see, from video, there are a lot of people on the ground. clearly be intended to, we do not have casualty figures at the moment —— clearly being attended to. latest reports, including from one

of the best—known newspapers in spain, they say a couple of armed men, or some armed men are holed up ina bar men, or some armed men are holed up in a bar in the area. that is what they are reporting, we do not have that confirmed ourselves but there isa that confirmed ourselves but there is a massive police operation underway and it seems there are a lot of casualties, although we don't know numbers, and of course it brings back memories of previous attacks using vehicles as weapons ploughing into crowds of people, as we have seen. here in london in the last few months, we have heard there was one in paris and there were those attacks in nice, where 80 people were attacked. —— where 80 people were attacked. —— where 80 people were attacked. —— where 80 people were killed. at the moment, we do not have any idea as to who was responsible. richard, thank you. i know that you will keep us updated

as soon as information comes through. let's speak to someone in barcelona at the moment, ethanjoins us on barcelona at the moment, ethanjoins us on the phone. thank you, it's very good of you to talk to us. can you explain where you are and what you explain where you are and what you have been seeing? yes, my boyfriend and i were walking back from the beach. this morning, we went there for some food and we were walking back and were just about to cross las ramblas itself. we could sense that there was something strange. i said to my boyfriend there was something odd. it was all ofa there was something odd. it was all of a sudden, police just shouted at everybody to run. there was a really loud crashing noise. but i did not stop to look back. it was just an immediate stampede in the opposite direction, down all of the narrow streets that are by las ramblas. we have actually now... we are in a

church with about eight local people, they have locked the doors. police are outside. we are waiting to hear more news. it's quite scary to hear more news. it's quite scary to be caught up in it, to be honest. yes, and when you say there was a stampede, do you mean quite literally you and lots and lots of other people just ran when police said to get out of the way. yes, anyone who has been here knows how busy that area is. it was literally instantaneous. people just... now, it was just shouting of police and screaming, people turned and ran the other way. i stopped to help a small child up, because they were knocked over from people just running. child up, because they were knocked overfrom peoplejust running. but people were obviously getting separated from their families and so on, running into shops nearby. the

shops were pulling down shutters and locking doors so that people were safe. these really narrow streets, there were a lot of people in the area at the time so there was a heavy stampede in the opposite direction. you are sheltering in a church, how many people are with you? there's about 80 people here, they have been handing out food and drink but it is quite a large church, located next to las ramblas. they have been giving us updates as and when they can. they have locked the main doors and i understand police are outside. people are sat in here anxiously waiting to hear more. so, for now, while you are inside the church, do you only know what is going on because you are following social media or watching the television? streaming television? i have had 50 or 60 minutes in —— messages in the last ten minutes. i'd message my parents but just from what we are

ten minutes. i'd message my parents butjust from what we are seeing on social media we understand that this isa social media we understand that this is a hostage situation going on in a restau ra nt is a hostage situation going on in a restaurant nearby which must be 50 or 100 meters away from the church where we are now. that is why we made sure that the churches were locked down. of course, you described it as scary when you were running away. absolutely, how are you feeling at the moment, and how is everybody feeling, with so many people in the church, as you have described? let people in the church, as you have described ? let yeah, people in the church, as you have described? let yeah, you just run, in that situation. i turned round to make sure that my boyfriend was with me, and we turned and ran as quick as possible. the only thought going on there is to go as quick as you can. there are quite a few people visibly shaken here. the people in the church handed out water and food as and when they needed it. it's clearly quite a stressful situation.

are you just on holiday together? yes, here for the week to relax, so that didn't go too well today. but just here for the week, i used to live in barcelona so i know the area really well. we were just about to cross las ramblas when clearly the van must have been there. we were very lucky to be able to run from it. it is interesting, that you live there. you know the city very well. booking a holiday there and going back, did you ever think about terrorism, think about attacks, i mean in the light of what we have been through in our own country as well as others, did it cross your mind at all? never, they are just making an announcement in spanish... now english. absolutely not. i lived here for a year and studied here for

university, and i consider it a safe place to come. it had not crossed my mind. ilive place to come. it had not crossed my mind. i live in london, so u nfortu nately mind. i live in london, so unfortunately this is not something com pletely unfortunately this is not something completely unheard—of but you do not expect it on holiday. what that announcement say. he is speaking in catalan, from what i understand he is saying that there is still someone is saying that there is still someone police are looking for outside. it seems as if most people have congregated towards the back of the church. i do not know whether they are going to let people out soon. they are going to let people out soon. i'm not sure what is going on, to be honest. of course, but doors are locked and there are 80 of you in there together. even, it's really good of you to talk to us under these circumstances. we really appreciated. thank you for talking to the bbc. it's good of you, take care. we wish you the best. thank you very much indeed. ethan there,

on holiday in barcelona. he is caught up in this and is sheltering ina caught up in this and is sheltering in a church with doors locked and he thinks about 80 people are sheltering in there at the moment. so, police treating this as a terrorist incident as we say, our correspondent richard galpin is keeping an eye on the information that police have been sending through over the course of the last little while. i mean, clearly, that young man we were speaking to there, it's a very frightening situation for him and everyone locked in the church. he made reference to a hostage situation in a cafe or bar. is it clear whether that is the case? how much do we know about that at the moment? we do not know for sure. there are reports from reliable newspapers in spain, saying two men are believed to be inside of

a bar in the area, apparently armed. it isn't yet confirmed, so we cannot be absolutely certain. spanish media are also talking about the fact that they believe two people have been killed, and about two dozen people have been injured. certainly from the videos which came out, there we re the videos which came out, there were clearly a lot of people on the ground, lying on the ground after the van smashed through the crowd. and again, you are referencing local media and well respected newspapers, and certainly a lot of those were saying that they believed a man had got out of the van after the incident and had run off. now, we seem incident and had run off. now, we seem to have this situation of two men, at least, in a bar, we think, in that local area. we are very much piecing this together, and... we know that they called for train

stations and metro stations in the area to be closed down, clearly indicating that they were looking for someone, presumably a driver, police are quoted as saying, that they fled after getting out of the van. richard, thank you. iwill let you return to looking at all of the spanish media and seeing what they are saying. and, crucially, what police in barcelona are saying. we are keeping an eye on all of that. it is very hard, i must stress, to get a clear number on the number of fatalities or injuries here but as soon as we fatalities or injuries here but as soon as we get word from police on that, we will bring it to you. now, guyjoins me on the line. thank you for your time. you are in barcelona. can you explain what you have seen this afternoon? i should point out that i am in madrid, i am not in barcelona, i have followed events

from madrid. i apologise, can you explain what you are picking up on from spanish media there and elsewhere? we have spanish media with reports that at least one person has died, some media are talking about a second person having died following the initial ploughing of the van into people on the road in las ramblas earlier. we know that police are looking for the driver of the van, who fled on foot. the civil guard, one of the spanish police forces, issued a statement saying that they were specifically looking for a that they were specifically looking fora man that they were specifically looking for a man one metre 70 in white, dressed in white with blue stripes, but we do not know any more regarding that manhunt. we know that there are at least 20 people hurt. again, these are just reports of two and men in a bar, or restaurant, in

central barcelona. we know very little about that situation. details there still coming through. we cannot say it often enough, guy, this is august, the height of the tourist season. we know how many tourists visit barcelona annually. it is hugely popular, and this is an area that would have been extremely busy, with both tourists and locals? is absolutely right. it is extremely popular with locals, particularly people who visit barcelona. this is peak season for tourists, it is big all year round in barcelona but especially at this time of year. the area around las ramblas and placa de catalu nya, area around las ramblas and placa de catalunya, where area around las ramblas and placa de catalu nya, where it area around las ramblas and placa de catalunya, where it took place, it is absolutely packed all through the day. during the summer months. in a way, it seems a fairly obvious

target for terrorists and that may have explained why the response was so have explained why the response was so quick, with the medical services and ambulance services that arrived so and ambulance services that arrived so quickly. with catalan police and national police, they have been following these events and are on the scene. die, thank you. guy hedger —— guy hedger, thank you. jim joins us —— guy hedger, thank you. jim joins us now, —— guy hedger, thank you. jim joins us now, can you —— guy hedger, thank you. jim joins us now, can you explain where you are, and what you have been seeing and hearing? yes, iam standing are, and what you have been seeing and hearing? yes, i am standing at the base of las ramblas by the statue of christopher columbus immediately behind me. normally this is completely fully occupied but is now deserted. police have cordoned off all sides, i am stood behind a tape that is in place. concerning

previous reports about a vehicle which drove down the pedestrian part of las ramblas, past placa de catalu nya. of las ramblas, past placa de catalunya. potentially of las ramblas, past placa de catalu nya. potentially hitting of las ramblas, past placa de catalunya. potentially hitting many people. there are witness reports of a loud bang that happened, followed bya a loud bang that happened, followed by a whole rush of people running from the scene. following that, there were initial reports of two people running away from the scene, potential suspects. being asked to move back from police right now... i do not have further details on the hostage situation other than what i have seen on other news outlets myself. we are at the wrong end of las ramblas to provide additional insight into that particular incident. what i can say is that there appears to be... the street is ina there appears to be... the street is in a state of trauma. people are shocked. obviously there are a lot of people asking questions about

what is happening. police themselves, who we have spoken to, they've not been able to provide additional information than what we have found out ourselves, and other witnesses are communicating via whatsapp in the city. witnesses are communicating via whatsapp in the citylj witnesses are communicating via whatsapp in the city. i feel slightly surprised from our vantage point,jim, slightly surprised from our vantage point, jim, that you are allowed to be as close to las ramblas as you clearly are. however i suppose it is roughly three quarters of a mile long. did the incident happened at the other end of the street? to be honest, i cannot tell you the exact point of impact but i believe it was about maybe one quarter of the way down from placa de catalunya towards where i am standing. we are maybe 400 metres or 500 metres from that point. in fact, as you mentioned, police are now creating an additional chord in pushing us further back. and in terms of security generally, we know and we

talk about soft targets, sadly, and clearly this is one. is there a sense, given events in western europe in the last few months, that there has been any increase in security, have any bollards been erected in light of what has happened in london, nice, and so on? or has life continued as usual? spain has quite a high police presence on the street. it is common to see outside of most of the important holdings here armed guards and armed police. —— important buildings. has policing increased in this current terror climate? maybe. that is interesting, thank you so much,jim, foryourtime that is interesting, thank you so much, jim, for your time and observations. we wish you all the best. thank you. jim kent, who is at one end of las ramblas, which is where the attack happened, within

the last 90 minutes or so. we've also been talking to an eyewitness, steve garrett. he described sheltering with a number of other people in a nearby bakery. we were ina large people in a nearby bakery. we were in a large open market area just off las ramblas, when a very large number of people went into the market area, there was a lot of screaming and shouting. security services immediately responded. we ran into the bakery with four or five other people and ran straight upstairs. hunkered down while swathes of people went through the market. obviously, coming from england, it reminded me a great deal of what happened in london so we we re very of what happened in london so we were very concerned about what could be happening next. the lady with us said that she heard some gunshots. we did not know what was going on. then a second wave of people came

through with a lot more screaming and shouting, followed by armed police. as they swept through the market area, they seemed to be looking very carefully and very cautiously through the area, store to store, then they disappeared up one of the many alleyways that come off the market area. we were basically sat there for 30—45 minutes, with sirens and a lot of screaming. there were a few other people running from other directions, quite a lot of confusion on the ground as to where this was. and we saw pictures on twitter, showing the incident at las ramblas and at this point it was very quiet. we thought it was all clear. everyone has been evacuated away from las ramblas. that was steve, another british man on holiday in barcelona talking about how he ran

from the area and ran into a local bakery. just to try and bring you right up to date with those facts as we understand them... police in barcelona say that this was a terrorist attack when a van drove into pedestrians on las ramblas, which, if you do not know barcelona, is absolutely in the heart of the city and would have been extremely busy with locals and tourists, particularly busy with tourists, i had to say. it is a real tourist magnet, that area. in the last few minutes, police have been saying that there have been fatalities but they have not given any numbers on that. so, police saying that people have died, but they cannot, or will not, give us firm numbers on that at the moment. and certainly, a number of other media outlets say that in the region of at least 20 people have been injured and we must stress that those numbers are liable to

change regrettably, given the nature of the incident we are talking about. catalan police say that there have been the target is but they are not putting a number on it at this stage. railway and metro stations have been closed and we spoke to one young man, a british man from london on holiday in barcelona and knows the city well. he said that he ran very quickly when he realised, as he put it to me, that something was not right. police started to tell people to get out of the area and we know that he is currently sheltering in a church with about 80 people, he said. he said that the doors had been locked and they are making sure nobody else can get in and church authorities have been giving them food and water. they are sheltering a while this police activity is ongoing. we will keep you up—to—date and bring you the latest details as the police there in barcelona give us more details.

they confirm there are fatalities after a van drove into pedestrians in las ramblas in the heart of barcelona this afternoon. we will pause for a moment and we will return to matters here. we will pause for a couple of minutes and get a weather forecast. so far today we've seen a mixture of sunshine and showers. the majority of the showers have been across northern ireland and scotland, there have been also a few across wales and south—west england in particular, with some sunshine elsewhere. some of the showers have been pretty heavy. this is one that went across argyll and bute during the afternoon in the western side of scotland. there will be further downpours across northern ireland, scotland and northern england too. hail and thunder is a possibility. a cooler night, temperatures 12 degrees in belfast. tomorrow, sunshine and showers. we will have blustery winds around. they could knock branches off trees

in northern ireland, north—west of both england and wales. rain could be lengthy and pro longed. the showers will pass. it will be a cooler day with temperatures between 16 and 21 degrees. that is how the weather is shaping up we will go back to jane for the latest on that developing story in barcelona. chris, thank you very much. . we are staying with the story here this afternoon on bbc news. if you are joining us, a van drove into pedestrians on las ramblas in barcelona in the last couple of hours. the police there saying that they are treating it as a terrorist incident and catalan police saying there have been fatalities, but they are not putting a number on that at the moment. they are telling us that people have died and they are not, at this stage, giving any numbers on anyone who might have been injured or killed in this attack. also, just

worth saying, the police say they have activated their protocols for a terrorist attack, but they can't confirm the motive for what has happened. the latest images and live pictures we have got over the course of the last year, you will appreciate a lot of very shocked and upset people. we will see images like this, regrettably, for the next few hours as the reasons for this incident perhaps emerge and as we get more details from the police as to what exactly has happened. our correspondent richard galpin has been with me throughout the hour. you are trying to piece together what happened. we get the sense there the police not keen to give too many details at this stage. just give us a sense of what we understand has happened here?|j understand has happened here?” think perhaps it's one of the reasons why the police are not saying too much is that it seems

that the perpetrators or perpetrator might still be on—the—run. it's not clear at the moment. initially, there were reports they wanted to close the metro station and the train stations. they said the driver had fled the scene afterjumping out of the van having hit many people in las ramblas in a very, very busy tourist part of the city. there are also reports, not confirmed though, that there are armed men inside a bar in the area. so potentially some kind of hostage situation. that is unconfirmed. we don't know whether it's the same people involved or not. it's an ongoing incident at the moment and obviously a huge police presence. a huge action going on in terms of the security services and dealing with many, many people who have either been killed or injured. the reports so far, as you were saying, jane, it seems, according to spanish media, two people have been killed and maybe ten or 20 people

have been injured. richard, thank you very much for now. you will stay with us. before we talk to someone else who is in barcelona, let me bring you as well the latest advice from the foreign office. the foreign office telling us that the british embassy in madrid and the consulate general in barcelona are in contact with the local authorities and are urgently seeking further information. in essence, the local authorities are advising people to stay in doors a and, in particular, stay in doors a and, in particular, stay away from las ramblas. that is the area where this has happened. that is the area where the van drove into people. the foreign office saying if you are in the immediate area, take care and follow the advice of the local security authorities. the foreign office of course promising further updates as soon as course promising further updates as soon as they can possibly get them through. we should stress of course local people are bound to have beenle caught up in this as well. the reason we talk about tourism is

that barcelona, as has been in the news for other reasons recently, is extraordinarily popular with tourists and it's the height of the season. anything up to 8 million tourists go to this city every year. almost overwhelmed, which is a point that some local groups have been making recently. the population of barcelona is 1.7 million. you get a sense of just how barcelona is 1.7 million. you get a sense ofjust how many tourists could be there at this time of year. las ramblas, in particular, is a key tourist trap, i think we could call it that. a key tourist area. let us talk now to reece richards, who is in the city. thank you for speaking to us. where are you at the moment and what have you been seeing today? i'm currently just and what have you been seeing today? i'm currentlyjust in a taxi in barcelona just now to head back to our hotel. we walked quite a bit after the attack. i was about 10

meters away from the top of las ramblas when the van drove in, i didn't see it impact, it was moments later when i heard the screaming and people returning, when i turned around. —— running. isaw one people returning, when i turned around. —— running. i saw one person lying on the ground receiving cpr andi lying on the ground receiving cpr and i saw another person, a shopper, laying down on the ground motionless. moments after it we got carted into a shop, just around the corner from it. the carted into a shop, just around the cornerfrom it. the employees carted into a shop, just around the corner from it. the employees shut the door and everything to keep us and the people in the store safe. we we re and the people in the store safe. we were in there for about 40 minutes as things progressed. and then,

after that, we continued... wejust got as fast as we can away from the centre of town and then tried to make our way back home to the hotel. when you heard what you heard in the initial stages and, as you say, you turned round and so you saw people screaming and someone being treated, what went through your mind. what did you think was happening? at first i thought someone must have had a heart attack. i didn't hear anything. and then panic started to set in, just as i realised, over the things that have happened recently in london, i started to think that maybe this has just happened. you don't really think it could happen to you or you could be in the area whilst it happens at all. but it was just... it was horrible. it was terrifying. i mean, i hope you don't mind me saying, that you do sound really, really shaken up, i'm not at

all surprised by that given what you've been through. yeah. you are presumably just there on you've been through. yeah. you are presumablyjust there on holiday, are you? yeah. yeah. just joined my girlfriend and her family today. just my luck that something like this happens. it's not been fun. are you feeling safe now? you are clearly getting away from the area? i feel clearly getting away from the area? ifeel much clearly getting away from the area? i feel much safer now i'm in a taxi, public transport would have made me feel quite on edge. i feel a public transport would have made me feel quite on edge. ifeel a lot safer just now. well, feel quite on edge. ifeel a lot saferjust now. well, all the best to you. thank you so much for talking to us. we hope that you and ourgirlfriend will be ok. thank you very much indeed for speaking to us. let us talk to another british tourist who is there as well. nasser, thank you for speaking to us. you are on holiday, too. what have you been

saying? we are heading back to england today and we just thought we have a few hours to kill, we will go to las ramblas. we would have been around the area that it happened if my strnl hadn't want to pop into zara's. i was stood outthere with my mother—in—lawed and i heard an explosion down the road. it was like a movie, people running and screaming. we made our way into the sdch ara store and took cover in there. after five sdch ara store and took cover in there. afterfive minutes, when people started moving again, we tried to make our way further up the road to get on to a metro. the metro was closed there. we started to make our way further away from the scene as possible and just as we were got to barcelona football store we heard another explosion. we just rushed into there. as many people crammed in as possible. then the store security guard closed the store, the

shutters. there was one family who made it in, three inside and three outside. panic settled in. everyone was screaming and crying. it was really scary. are you away from the area now? do you feel safe. do you feel ok now? yeah. we walked a couple of blocks up and to the right and we bumped into a gentleman from america who lives in barcelona. we needed to get to a station where our luggage was in a locker. he showed us luggage was in a locker. he showed usa luggage was in a locker. he showed us a way to get there by getting on two metros in the opposite direction rather than on the direct route. we are in the main train train station we will head to the airport in half an hourourflight is we will head to the airport in half an hour ourflight is at 10.00pm. we will head to the airport in half an hour our flight is at 10.00pm. we in this country have been through attacks of a similar nature. lots of other european countries have been through them, too. did you think about any of that when you were booking your holiday? did that occur

to you as an issue at all? not at all. i don't think it's something you can ever imagine happening to you. it didn't really cross my auto mind, to be honest. we hope you get home safe. thank you very much. nasser aslam due to return to britain today after his holiday there in barcelona. just to tell you, we are hearing that the police in the city will be giving a news conference at 6. 00pm. in the next 20 inminutes we will have more details. the police say there will be a news conference at 6.00pm. we will bring that to you, of course. because thus far, as we have been reflecting, they haven't given a huge number of details. the police saying why there have been fatalities they are not prepared to give or not able to give any further details. certainly not giving any numbers as to the people who might have been killed or injured in this attack. let's talk to shelb mansell from

bristol and is also in barcelona. your experiences there in the city this afternoon? hi. well we were walking through las ramblas and we took a detour through the market and there were lots of people, lots of tourists. we had been in there for a little bit, we were going to leave to go back on to the main road. we stopped at a bakery. suddenly, it was... it was so loud. suddenly lots of screaming and hundreds of people filtered through the gateway towards us. filtered through the gateway towards us. hundreds of people screaming and running in every direction. we ran straight into the bakery and up the stairs and we looked out of the window at the top. we could see hundreds of people just running through the market, shopkeepers,

tourists just running through. it went quiet for a minute and then it came in another wave. it was chaos. absolute chaos. people everywhere. it went really quiet. we were told it was safe. we went downstairs and outback into the market. no, no, it wasn't safe. we had to run back in. so we ran back upstairs into the ba kery so we ran back upstairs into the bakery with six other people. the bakery with six other people. the baker came in and shut the shutters. we ran upstairs. we could see out of the window. the police were sweeping through with guns. we could see them sort of directly opposite us, down a little lane, there were seven policemen with guns down in that one little area. i think we were hiding for about 40 minutes. the people we we re for about 40 minutes. the people we were hiding with had been separated from their loved ones. so it was very frightening. i was terrified. i'm still a little bit shakey. then we came out and everything was shut.

we've had to leave that area. we've walked a few minutes away. we are in a piazza now. huge police presence there. are helicopters over us now. we are not too far from the main street. lots of police presence. a lot of confused people. lots of people crying and hugging. things are returning to normal now. people playing basketball next next to us. a calm has settled on this immediate area. maybe life isjust a calm has settled on this immediate area. maybe life is just carrying a calm has settled on this immediate area. maybe life isjust carrying on area. maybe life isjust carrying on a little bit, but we're still a little bit shaken. of course. i mean, absolutely, from the pictures we are looking at here, we would expect you to be. it's good of you to talk to us given what you have been through. you were clearly with a lot of other people through much of this. give us a sense of what people were saying to each other? how people were reacting? what did people think was going on? nobody

actually really knew. there was a woman near us who actually really knew. there was a woman near us who heard gunshots. we didn't know, and the people directly near us were didn't know, and the people directly near us were catalan and we couldn't understand what they were saying. they said there was one gunman in the market. that is how we knew. we had to hide under the tables and out of view. that is what we knew until we came out. we were told leave the market, leave the market. people we re very market, leave the market. people were very relieved when they saw people hugging and carrying. people we re people hugging and carrying. people were terrified and i'm shaken. i feel relieved at the moment. of course. it's good of you to talk to us course. it's good of you to talk to us given that. we really appreciate that. thank you very much. clearly, very, very shaken up. not surprisingly given what she and so many others have been through. we've been reflecting that the

police have been reluctant to give any casualty numbers. the catalan police, the catalan police saying that they are confirming fatalities, but they would not give us any numbers. we are getting a little bit of information through on that. i should say that this is local media. this will looks like it's coming from local media in the area, which has been picked up by various news agencies. police sources telling local media that 13 people have been killed. this is not specifically from the police themselves directly. as we say, they are due to give a news co nfe re nce as we say, they are due to give a news conference at 6.00pm. so this is not confirmed, but the spanish media saying that police have told them that 13 people have died. given

what we're talking about, again, as we are have seen in so many countries now, a van driving into groups of pedestrians, regrettably we know from our own experiences here in this country and from many others, that there will be people who have been very badly injured as well. we know sadly from our own experiences. we expect we will get more details from the police at 6.00pm. we have been talking to lots of tourists, lots of british tourists who are in the city. the height of the tourist city here, in mid august. we can speak to an american tourist. tom markwelljoins me on the line. thank you for speaking to the bbc. what have you been experiencing this afternoon? hi,jane. been experiencing this afternoon? hi, jane. this afternoon i came in ona hi, jane. this afternoon i came in on a flight and i was in a taxi just turning on to las ramblas and maybe just a block—and—a—half from my hotel. so i wasjust looking

just a block—and—a—half from my hotel. so i was just looking at the boulevard where everyone was shopping from the back of the taxi. i heard just this group. people scream at the same time. you just don't think of this, naturally. then i looked to my left and i saw a white van with its front, it looked like it was broken out. at first i thought, there must be somebody working and driving. like a service vehicle. then i realised he was going entirely too fast and was able to be, as if he was going left to right, hitting people at the little stands, where people were shopping, basically. all of a sudden people we re basically. all of a sudden people were just screaming and running. basically. all of a sudden people werejust screaming and running. my taxi stopped. we knew immediately naturally what had happened or what was going on at that moment. we waited for a second and my taxi driver just started saying, waited for a second and my taxi driverjust started saying, "oh, my

god, oh, my god", and i was in shock. we turned right around the corner. i was literally at my hotel. iran into corner. i was literally at my hotel. i ran into the hotel. then everyone was running into any space of course that they could find safety. they we re that they could find safety. they were coming into the hotel and screaming and they... i turned around and they were starting to run the other way. that was when the hotel staff put me behind the front desk, down on the ground. at that point, ijust... itjust seemed surreal. so then they got all of us together into a ballroom, which was just off the entrance, i should say, of the hotel. to me it didn't feel safe at all. there was really no, there was nobody armed to protect there was nobody armed to protect the room of people. ifor better or for worse, i left the room and i said, "give me a room key now" they gave me a key. i came upstairs i

would like to be one person in hundreds of rooms than hundreds of people in one room. i can see eve ryo ne a cross people in one room. i can see everyone across at the other hotel, eve ryo ne everyone across at the other hotel, everyone is watching out of the hotel wondering what now. you are having to, in terms of what you do next, tom, are you having to base your actions on watching the television, following social media? do you speak the language? do you feel cut off? what is your sense right now? yeah. i do speak spanish. it's really, more than anything, when you see that, when i turned the corner i thought to myself... i don't know what i was thinking. maybe people got out of the way. maybe people got out of the way. maybe he didn't get anybody. i looked and i saw this lady laying on the ground sprawled out in blood. i thought to myself, as we were coming round the corner, this is going to be really bad. you know now, itjust

seems like, apparently i'm watching bbc now, apparently there is somebody held up by police now. i will stay in my room tonight. there is nowhere i need to go that with a bad, let's put it that way. of course. given what we have seen in various european countries in recent months, did you have any qualms at all about being in barcelona? you know, it's really interesting question because it was in the back of my mind when i arrived. it wasn't necessarily barcelona, but it was in my mind just thinking to myself, you know, is this safe? you never think it's going to happen to you or you never think you're going to see it. you just see it on the news. that time that you do see it, it's so surreal that it... you can't even process it. you know, obviously

there's always the question whether or not people should just stay home, but you have to... you know, life goes on. it was definitely the most unbelievable thing i've ever seen in my life. tom, it's very good of you to talk to us under those circumstance, thank you so much. thank you for speaking to the bbc. we wish you all the best. let's speak to another tourist as well. julia is on holiday from australia. julia, again, similarly, explain what you've experienced this afternoon? hi, yes, what started out asa afternoon? hi, yes, what started out as a shopping afternoon in the las ramblas. we were in a shopping mall, which is on the corner facing directly onto the street where everything kind of took place this afternoon, but the shop we were in actually faced out directly on to

the piazza directly across from everything. there was some minor confusion in the store as we appeared to be locked—in. obviously, appeared to be locked—in. obviously, a language barrier can. so we were unsure as to exactly what has happening. it didn't appear to be too serious in the early stages. from our position in the store we could see out. there were a lot of people in the piazza, a lot of people. they all appeared to be looking in the same direction. there was police present and we could hear ssirens. in a split second it became absolute pandemonium. something happened out on the street. then suddenly everyone was just running literally for their lives, which is what everyone appeared to be thinking. there with a a lot of screaming, a lot of crying. we were forced back into the store,

into the very back corner where we we re into the very back corner where we were lying with our faces to the floor, told to get down as low as possible and away from the windows. we remained in that position for about 20 minutes. unsure of what was really happening at that stage outside. just knowing that, from what we could tell, it was very serious. julia, are you feeling safe now? are you feeling all right? we have walked back to our hostel. we are back in our rooms. for the minute feeling shaken, but feeling safe. yeah, that's all i can really think to say at the moment. i'm in shock actually that the day took a turn so quickly. of course. we wish you all the best. it's really good of you to talk to us given what

you've experienced this afternoon. we send you our best wishes. thank you very much. julia, on holiday there from barcelona from australia. let us summarise what we know so far as we edge up to of.00pm because that police news conference is due at 6.00pm. let us summarise what we believe has happened here. our correspondent richard galpin has been following this throughout. police said they were treating it as a terrorist incident early on, what more have we learnt since then? quite a lot. we know obviously this white van ploughed through a large number of people in this very, very busy area, pedestrian area of barcelona. a lot of tourists go, there will be locals there as well. there are reports from spanish media that 13 people may have been killed and presumably dozens have been injured. there was some doubts about whether the police had actually definitely said they thought this

was a terrorist attack, but now it seems we do have confirmation that the police are saying they are treating it as a terrorist attack. we understand that the driver of this vehicle fled after ploughing through so many people. what's much less certain at the moment is what's happened to the driver. there are reports, we have not had any more information about this over the last half—hour, there are armed men inside a bar somewhere in the area. we also know that large numbers of people have been holed up inside other restaurants, sheltering. just to get to safety. 600 people were in a particular chain of restaurants in the area. a lot of people obviously fleeing for their lives, hiding in buildings in the area and of course now there is a massive police operation. there was a call for the metro and train stations to be

closed presuming in the driver had fled they might be able to track him. thank you very much. richard galpin there. we will stay with this story here on bbc news and bring you the very latest. a lot more to emerge about what has happened here this afternoon in bars lone. because that police news conference is coming up, if you want to watch the six o'clock news there will be coveraging on bbc one of everything thatis coveraging on bbc one of everything that is happening. on the bbc news channel we of course will bring you that police news conference live. we will bejoining our that police news conference live. we will be joining our colleagues at bbc world news. we will have the latest on that terrorist attack from barcelona. hello, you are watching special

coverage here on bbc news. let's go back to that breaking news in barcelona, where police say they are dealing with a terror attack after a vehicle ploughed into a crowded pedestrians in the busy las ramblas area. some local media reporting that 13 people have died. spanish police are treating it as a terrorist attack. police sources are reporting that number of 13 dead to reuters news agency. another critical line in the last little while, police sources are also talking about them searching for two perpetrators and there are reports of at least one person, in a cafe, hold—up. it is thought they