Madrid - A van crashed into dozens of
people in the centre of Barcelona on Thursday and several people
were injured, police in the Spanish city said.
Police described the incident on Twitter as a "massive
crash". Emergency services said people should not go to the area
around the city's Placa Catalunya, and requested the closure of
nearby train and metro stations.
El Pais newspaper said the driver of the vehicle had fled on
foot after mowing down dozens of people.
#BREAKING: Many people injured by a van in #Barcelona's Las Ramblas tourist area. #Spain pic.twitter.com/vN1kRb0n0O
— Kevin W. (@kwilli1046) August 17, 2017
While full details of the incident were not immediately
clear, since July 2016 vehicles have been used to ram into
crowds in a series of militant attacks across Europe, killing
well over 100 people in Nice, Berlin, London and Stockholm.
In recent weeks, threatening graffiti against tourists has
appeared in Barcelona, which draws at least 11 million visitors
a year.
In one video released under the slogan "tourism kills
neighbourhoods", several hooded individuals stopped a tourist
bus in Barcelona, slashed the tyres and spray-painted the
windscreen.