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 could be hostages in that situation. those are the latest details. that is what they are currently dealing with in barcelona. a huge police operation. this is the van where it came to

rest. finally, after going at high speed down the road. going onto the pavement. this is the street, you can see from those pictures how narrow and busy it is. these are the immediate moments after the van went down the street. a short while ago, a witness said that the van went past him and instantly, he knew from its speed, that there was something wrong. he heard banging as it rode onto the pavement and it hits stores. these are pictures from inside of shops as people ran for safety a nd inside of shops as people ran for safety and were ushered away. hundreds of people were there in the street. it was very busy at the time, lots of reports saying that the streets were thronged with people. you can see in those

pictures people running outside as people try to rush away from where the van had hit people. dozens of people are reported to have been hit by the van. police are now saying that 15 people have now died but there are reports of 20—25 injured, also, by the van. tom wheeler lives near where the attack took place, he told me what it was like in the moments as the van went past him. let's hear again what he had to say. i left my flat, and was walking to las ramblas to go to the metro station. i was 15 or 20 metres from the end of my road and i heard

screaming festival. then, a couple of crashes. —— first of all. it mounted the pavement and knocked over all kinds of stores, and that is when i saw the crowds parting as there was a massive throng of people along las ramblas itself. the crowds we re along las ramblas itself. the crowds were parting and that is when i saw the van going at full speed down the middle of las ramblas. when i saw that it was not slowing down, i realise that there was something very, very wrong. so you actually saw the van itself travelling at speed? yeah, yeah. how fast was it going? i would guess 50 mph but it is hard to tell. it was going fast. in sucha

is hard to tell. it was going fast. in such a tight street it must have felt magnified, you must have known there was something wrong? as soon asi there was something wrong? as soon as i saw the velocity of it, i thought, this is an attack. it isn't just a slightly out—of—control van. asi just a slightly out—of—control van. as i ran back to my flat, 50 metres away, it was traumatic. i ran into the shops, people were running into shops and bars, shutters were coming down. the police cordoned off the road entirely. and how busy was it in the streets before the attack? road entirely. and how busy was it in the streets before the attack7m is packed, it is always packed. some are in barcelona is the ultimate tourist attraction. it is difficult walking out pace down las ramblas because there is always people

around, it is so busy. it is strange, five or ten minutes after, i heard another big bang. i don't know what it was, i did not know whether it was a bomb or something like that. there were more screens, it could have easily been someone putting down their shutters forcefully but there was another bang. there were a few people who started running away again. right now, my road is completely cordoned off. you know, it is such a densely populated street in terms of the amount of people along las ramblas, in the space of 20 metres. at pace,

you could easily hit 30 people. people were running out of the way, you heard screaming, and... there was not time for people to get out of the way because of the velocity. did you say you were back in your flat? what is clear is that catalan police, i reading this from my screen here, reuters news agency reporting that they are still looking for the driver of the van. is it clear looking from your window this operation is still ongoing? absolutely, armed police are stationed on my road right now. there are helicopters above. it makes sense that there is still someone makes sense that there is still someone out as nobody is allowed anywhere right now. there are police on the cord. all of the shops have their shutters down. i can see where

their shutters down. i can see where the cord and is at the end of my road. there are people gathered there. —— cordon. it's one of those things, you never think that it will happen to you, it's a mean that you will never see. especially in barcelona. i don't know. when i moved here, ithought, at least barcelona. i don't know. when i moved here, i thought, at least you do not have terrorism in spain. 0ther do not have terrorism in spain. other then eta, it is such a happy place here, barcelona, and for this kind of thing to happen, it contrasts with what it stands for, you know? our corresponded richard galpin is monitoring several sources and every strand of information coming in. what can you tell us? spanish media are reporting, we do not have confirmation, that 13 people have been killed and a significant number of people injured. we do not have direct

confirmation of that so far. what we do know is that the van ploughed through a large number of people. video shows that and it is evidence that people were on the ground receiving treatment. police say that the driver fled. the metro stations and train stations were closed, trying to find this person. there is now less information, what we were hearing about two armed men being hauled up in a bar somewhere around the area. we do not have more information on that but we do expect a news conference in from police in the area. as you say that, that news conferences currently going on. let me bring you up to date with what police on the ground are saying. they have just said that in terms of numbers they are releasing at the moment, apologies, that is where the line of the news conference was coming into us from. they say that

it is significant. 0ne coming into us from. they say that it is significant. one person has been killed and 32 injured. so there isa been killed and 32 injured. so there is a mismatch in terms of what has been reported earlier. locally, reports of 13 people killed but police, in terms of their news conference, this hasjust happened, i will repeat it, a significant change in such a fluid situation, police reporting that one person has died and 32 people have been injured. we will try and have that news c0 nfe re nce injured. we will try and have that news conference translated and bring you all of the detail in the next few moments. richard, it is still an ongoing operation? absolutely, the van driver apparently fled so they will still be looking for at least one person. there are reports of this ongoing situation inside of a bar, where apparently there were reports of armed men inside of a bar. there is no confirmation of that but clearly there is a massive police operation and a large number

of armed police across the whole area. they are obviously in a high state of alert. it does not seem this incident is at an end at the moment. thank you. an additional line from catalan police, they say of the 32 people injured ten are seriously injured. that news conference just completed. we will try to bring you more in a couple of moments. rees richard is in barcelona and he witnessed some of the events today. thank you for joining us, can you tell us what you experienced? i was shopping with my girlfriend, and a van was at the top of las ramblas, where the impact happened. i turned around, to see what was going on. people started screaming and police were scrambling down the road. i looked over, i had a closer look and i could see that there was someone a closer look and i could see that there was someone lying on the ground, with a police officer

performing cpr. there was another next to that person. i did not think anything of it. ijust thought somebody had dropped down from a heart attack, and then with all of the things that happened with london and across europe, with these van attacks, i thought, and across europe, with these van attacks, ithought, maybe and across europe, with these van attacks, i thought, maybe this has happened? panic began to and people we re happened? panic began to and people were running. there were more and more police. we were ushered into a make up store. just to take safety. the doors were shut upon us. after that, half an hour later we were out. we started to head away from the centre. there were armed police going past, a helicopter in the air. i'm about to go through a tunnel so i may lose signal. then, we went through a toll station and there we re through a toll station and there were armed police there, checking

ca rs were armed police there, checking cars for possible suspects. can you tell me, you mentioned seeing the casualties on the ground by that stage, was the van anywhere in your side? all had it continued its journey at high speed further down the street? i did not see any van at all, if i saw it i would have known what happened but i did not see any van at all. and tell me, what is happening now? we were hearing a little earlier that the operation is still going on, as they try to search for the people who actually did this? we just passed through a toll station with armed police and they are checking cars. i assume for possible suspects. in barcelona, as we we re possible suspects. in barcelona, as we were walking away from the centre, there were helicopters and

police everywhere you could luck. honestly, everywhere you could luck. sirens going off, and a general sense of panic. your line is going in and out so i will lead you there but thank you for giving me that information, in terms of what you have gone through today. i spoke to john ward a short while ago, let me give you the latest information from him. he says that he can now see, you will remember that he was overlooking where the ban was, he can see police going door—to—door, opening and questioning those inside of shops and restaurants, bringing out shop owners in some cases, and escorting more people away. that operation that we have been describing as ongoing is clearly still happening there on the ground, as they move further and further down the cordoned off area, trying to get people safe, and of course

they are looking for at least two perpetrators. i will be back with richard galpin with more of the latest information but in the last four while i spoke to shelby from bristol, who was in a market near the scene of the attack. this is what she described seeing. we were ina what she described seeing. we were in a market. it is a long las ramblas. we were up on the main street but we stopped to look at some cakes in a bakery then suddenly, there was screaming and hundreds of people ran towards us, screaming and running. we ran into the bakery and ran up the stairs to hide. as we looked out of the window people were running through the market, hundreds and hundreds of people. they were running through the market and shutters were coming down. lots of screaming and lots of running. we waited a few minutes and it seemed to calm down and we were

told that we could go out. we went back into the market and a second wave hit. we were told it was not safe and we had to get back inside. police swept through the market with guns. from where we were we could see through the market, and there we re see through the market, and there were about seven police officers with guns, surrounding a doorway. that's the point where we just hate under the tables, and upstairs in the bakery. we werejust under the tables, and upstairs in the bakery. we were just waiting. there was a woman waiting and she ran off las ramblas, saying that she heard gunshots. we were there about 40 heard gunshots. we were there about a0 minutes, ithink heard gunshots. we were there about a0 minutes, i think a heard gunshots. we were there about a0 minutes, ithinka hiding. then we we re a0 minutes, ithinka hiding. then we were told it was safe to come out but we had to move away from the area. it sounds incredibly frightening? we are still a little shaky, to be honest. you know, people around us are going back to normal a little more now but the tourists are very shaken up, i think. and certainly, what we are

reading and what we are seeing, from local authorities and reports from the scene, that clearly this is not over, as they still try and find the perpetrator, or perpetrators, of this attack? that's what we believe, what we have managed to work out. there are police and ambulance is still on the street, and an ambulance above us. we are told it is not yet over. and in terms of the area where the police are, how large is the area where the security operation is going on? it seems to be quite a large area. we are not among the main street any more, so i cannot give any detailed information on it. but there is a high police visibility and roads are shut. the gates to the market are shut, the metro is shut. they are clearing everybody out the area. give me an

idea as to how busy it was at the time? the pictures we saw in the immediate aftermath, it looks very busy? it is so busy, much busier than yesterday, actually. it's a bit ofa than yesterday, actually. it's a bit of a surprise. there were hundreds of a surprise. there were hundreds of people, very busy. those are the pictures of the van in the centre of the screen as we ended hearing from that latest eyewitness. before i ask richard the next question, it is worth returning to what we heard from police. they clarify figures, no surprise, in a fluid situation like this, that the numbers have changed. they say that one person has died, 32 injured and ten seriously injured. but, one would fully expect for that to change again potentially in the coming minutes. richard has been following things. just to put this in perspective, we have seen attacks in several european countries. the uk, france and belgium, but not in spain

for the last few years? not since 200a when there was a very serious attack, almost 200 people were killed and many hundreds injured in the madrid train bombings. in 200a, it happened just before the general election and the belief was it was carried out by an al-qaeda cell, or an al-qaeda inspired group of people. it was a very serious attack and since then, as far as i have been aware, there haven't been any major attacks, not carried out by islamist militants. and in recent times, we saw the van in those pictures, but that has become a weapon used by terrorists in their attacks? we have seen it in several different cities and it is so difficult to defend yourself from? it has become a weapon of choice. we do not know who was behind the attack. certainly, we know that islamic state and some other hard—core ms

islamic state and some other ha rd—core ms bacha islamic state and some other hard—core ms bacha khan militant groups, —— hard—core islamist militant groups, they have used these as weapons as they are easy to get hold of, and you can cause a huge amount of damage. we have seen every pattern, over the last year, you go back to the horrific attack in nice, when more than 80 people we re in nice, when more than 80 people were killed in july in nice, when more than 80 people were killed injuly of last year, right the way through berlin and stockholm, and paris, and is now in london, two attacks using vehicles. what was interesting is that there was an eyewitness saying that he thought that he saw the van veering from left to right. that is also a hallmark of these attacks that we have seen in the past where they try and hit as many people as possible. that's just one eyewitness, not totally reliable, so that is one thing that we thought we have seen. some pictures of armed police, we have heard how they are moving from street to street, as they are

looking for the perpetrators. you can see on the screen, you have heavily armed response, as they are looking for the people who have carried this out. that is going on. for intelligence services, in moments like this, in the immediate hours afterwards, they are dealing with so much. all of those questions about whether they have missed things, they will come later. at the moment they are trying to find out how many perpetrators there are and if there are more coming. their first priority is to protect civilians, so if they are worried, the perpetrators of this attack are still at large, that is the top priority and they will be devoting as many resources as they possibly can to that. large numbers of armed police on the streets. my instinct is that there have been armed guards and police in buildings for some time now. there was some concern about potential attacks, given what

happened in the rest of western europe. it is obviously now flooded with armed police. and security services, intelligence agencies, they will be working very hard. looking at lists of people potentially who will be suspects, they have a list of people who they believe may have been radicalised, for example. they will be working really ha rd. for example. they will be working really hard. some of the questions they will be turning their rete ntions they will be turning their retentions —— turning their attentions to. exactly what we heard, john ward, reporting. we saw those pictures from him of armed police moving down his street. let's go back to las ramblas, john lives on that street. thank you, tell me more about what you have seen in the last little while after mark since i

last little while after mark since i last spoke to you, things around the van are fairly quiet. there was an initial burst of excitement. the place right in front of me is still in lockdown. there was a heavy police presence. what they have been doing is going from establishment to establishment, knocking on doors and knocking on shutters. people have opened the shutters and have been brought out onto the street. 0nce opened the shutters and have been brought out onto the street. once it is established that they are not the people they are looking for, they have been escorted away from this particular area. nobody is moving along las ramblas, unless they are under police escort. they are putting police tape up, right in front of me. underneath where i live. the van is still there. nobody

has really touched it. the fatalities, now, iwould has really touched it. the fatalities, now, i would suggest that there are at least two right in front of me. but obviously, that is not confirmed. i understand that they are still there. they are obviously dealing with all sorts of other things. i understand that, we have had the latest press conference from police and they have said at the moment, figures they release one dead and 32 injured, we understand what you say but we leave it to police confirm that. obviously unconfirmed. catalan police are in charge, they are in front of me now and they are searching buildings and coordinating movement. the local police, they have cordoned off las ramblas down to my right, and nobody is moving, unless police say so. that is the situation at the moment.

the van is still right in front of me. it has not been touched for at least an hour. it must be very concerning, to be there at the heart of things and seeing this going on around you. i've heard it dozens of times but for the grace of god, i have been walking —— i could have been walking through las ramblas, doing what i do, for the grace of god could have been made. but here i am. have you heard anything more about these reports we've been getting, as we sit here in london trying to make of those reports as perhaps one person or two people holed up in a bar, potentially holding other people? have you heard anything? nothing. nobody is going anywhere unless police say so here. quite what is going on, the bakery

where the lady was speaking to you from earlier on, it is about 50 metres towards pla ca from earlier on, it is about 50 metres towards placa de catalunya. but i have heard nothing about the perpetrators. john, we will leave you there. we are coming to the end of our coverage on bbc world news for now. but let me give you the key bits, as we continue to see the key pictures and key information, the news co nfe re nce pictures and key information, the news conference from police in the last little while confirming one dead, 32 injured and ten of those seriously injured. they are continuing to search for the perpetrators. let's get more now from my colleague, jane hill. she spoke to an american tourist called tom markwell, he was in barcelona. this afternoon, i came in on a flight, this afternoon, i came in on a flight, and i was in a taxi, just

turning on to las ramblas. maybe just a block and a half from my hotel. i was looking at the boulevard from the back of the taxi andi boulevard from the back of the taxi and i heard this group of people screaming at the same time. you just do not think that naturally. then, i looked to my left and i saw a white van with its front looking like it was breaking out. at first, i thought it must be somebody working and driving, a service vehicle. then i realised he was going entirely too fast, and it looked to be as though he was going from left to right, hitting people at the little stands, the people shopping. people were screaming and they were running. my taxi stopped. we knew immediately what had happened, what was going

on. at that moment. we waited for a second, my taxi driverjust began to say, old, my god. iwas second, my taxi driverjust began to say, old, my god. i was in shock. —— oh my god. i was near my hotel and i ran inside. everybody was running into any space, to find safety. they we re into any space, to find safety. they were coming into the hotel and screaming. interestingly, iturned around and they began to run the other way. that was when hotel staff put me behind the front desk and down on the ground. at that point, it just seemed surreal. down on the ground. at that point, itjust seemed surreal. they got all of us together into a room which was just off the entrance of the hotel. to me, it did not feel safe at all because there was really nobody and to the room —— there was nobody

armed. i left the room and said, give mea armed. i left the room and said, give me a room key. i came upstairs, i thought i would rather be one person in hundreds of rooms rather than hundreds of people in one room. asi than hundreds of people in one room. as i can see, everybody across the hotel, they are watching out of their window, wondering what now? you are having to, in terms of what you do next, 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? i speak spanish, but when you see that, i thought to myself, maybe, i don't know, maybe people got out of the way? i looked and i saw this lady laying sprawled on the

ground with blood, and i thought that this was going to be really bad. apparently i am watching the bbc now, and apparently there is somebody holed up in a place nearby. soiam somebody holed up in a place nearby. so i amjust somebody holed up in a place nearby. so i am just going to stay in my room for the night. i do not think there is anywhere i need to go that badly, 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 ? qualms at all about being in barcelona? you know, it's really interesting, it was in the back of my mind. as i arrived. not necessarily barcelona but it was in my mind, just thinking to myself, you know, is it safe? you never think that it is going to happen to you, you never think that you are going to see it. you just see it on the news. that time that you do see

it, it is so surreal that you cannot even it, it is so surreal that you cannot eve n process it, it is so surreal that you cannot even process it. obviously, there is a lwa ys even process it. obviously, there is always the question, whether you should stay at home but you have two... life goes on. it was definitely the most horrible thing i've ever seen in my life. ui you are watching bbc news bbc news, terrorist attack at the heart