Up to 13 people are feared dead and at least 50 have been injured after a van crashed into a crowd of people in central Barcelona. It’s been confirmed that one suspected attacker has been arrested.

Spanish police, who are treating the incident as a terrorist attack, said the “massive crash” happened on Las Ramblas in an area of the city popular with tourists. This is the latest terrorist attack using a vehicle in Europe, following similar atrocities in Nice, Berlin and London that have claimed more than 100 lives in total.

Television pictures showed a crashed van stopped on top of a Joan Míro mosaic halfway down Las Ramblas. It reportedly entered the wide boulevard where it meets the Plaça de Catalunya, then drove towards the port area, meaning it would have covered more than 500 meters.

In a tweet, Catalan police confirmed they were dealing with a terrorist attack: “The terrorist attack protocol has been activated.” Spanish media reported that the Guardia Civil have identified the suspect thought to have hired the white Fiat van used in the attack. According to those reports, he is understood to be from north Africa but possessed an NIE, the identity document issued to foreigners who are resident in Spain.

A second van linked to the attack – assumed to have been used as getaway car – has been found in the small town of Vic in Catalonia.

The prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, cancelled his holiday in Galicia, north-west Spain, to return to Madrid. The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, and the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, also cancelled their holidays and were returning to the city. The Catalan vice-president, Oriol Junqueras, said the regional government would hold an urgent meeting.

Puigdemont has called for “maximum caution” in the wake of the attack. He added that “all the attention” should be on the victims of the attack.

According to early reports, the vehicle sped down the centre of the 1km-long road, which is usually packed with people, until it hit a newspaper kiosk and stopped.

President Trump condemned the Barcelona terror attack on Thursday, vowing the U.S. “will do whatever is necessary to help.”

Source: The Guardian, Fox News