13 feared dead in Barcelona attack

UP to 13 people are feared dead and dozens more injured after a van ploughed into pedestrians in a terror attack in a busy tourist area of Barcelona.

The driver of a white Fiat van, who fled on foot after the incident in Las Ramblas, was reported by local media to have been holed up in a city centre bar surrounded by police.

But authorities said a suspected terrorist had been arrested and there was no-one in the bar.

Sources confirmed that the death toll from the latest terror attack to strike a major European city was expected to reach 13.

The vehicle careered into terrified pedestrians in the busy tree-lined promenade, one of the most popular parts of the city, visited by tourists and locals alike.

The passport of a Spanish citizen, of Moroccan origin, was found at the scene.

Catalonia’s interior minister Joaquim Forn told reporters: “Unfortunately the number of fatalities will likely rise.”

And a spokesman from the Barcelona Civic Protection Office said: “The official information I have is that we have one person dead, and 64 people were attended by medical services.”