BARCELONA: At least 14 people were killed and more than 100 others injured after drivers slammed into pedestrians in two quick-succession, separate attacks on Barcelona’s most popular street and in another busy Spanish seaside town. WHAT HAPPENED? An explosion in a house late on Wednesday…
BARCELONA: At least 14 people were killed and more than 100 others injured after drivers slammed into pedestrians in two quick-succession, separate attacks on Barcelona’s most popular street and in another busy Spanish seaside town.
WHAT HAPPENED?
An explosion in a house late on Wednesday in Alcanar, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Barcelona, left one person dead and seven wounded.
Initially treated as a random gas blast, police later linked it to the Barcelona assault, believing occupants of the house were preparing an explosive device inside. One of four suspects later arrested was detained in Alcanar.
Around 4.50pm (1450 GMT) on Thursday, a vehicle ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians on the famous Las Ramblas boulevard in Barcelona.
The promenade in the heart of the city is one of Barcelona’s busiest streets, normally thronged with tourists and street performers until well into the night.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos and panic, with bodies strewn along the boulevard as others fled for their lives.
The driver fled on foot. Police have since said he may be among several suspects killed in the hours since the mayhem started.
SECOND ATTACK
Some eight hours after the Barcelona attack, an Audi A3 car hit pedestrians in the resort town of Cambrils, 120 kilometres (75 miles) to the south. Six civilians and a police officer were injured; one of the civilians, a woman, later died.
The five occupants of the car were killed by police.
When asked if the Barcelona driver may have been among those killed, Josep Lluis Trapero of Catalonia’s police said «the investigation points in that direction, » while cautioning that there was no «concrete proof».
