Eerie silence falls on the town
barcelona — In Barcelona’s old town, dozens of stunned tourists dressed in shorts and t-shirts stood behind security tape in the early hours, witnesses to the shocking attack on the famous boulevard of Las Ramblas.
Fourteen people were killed when a white van sped into the historic promenade, which was packed with tourists.
Close to the statue of Christopher Columbus, which depicts the explorer pointing out to sea, a distressed Scottish couple in their sixties who watched the attack unfold studied the security cordon blocking off the street.
“We were sitting on the balcony of the hotel. We saw everything... the car... the panic everywhere,” said the man, who did not want to be named, adding that they now could not get back to their hotel.
“The police, they arrived in two minutes, they were very good,” the woman said, staring blankly ahead. “We had to talk with them.”
As the city was bathed in sunshine hours earlier, Barcelona was shaken by the first attack on Spanish soil. Its target was the crowd enjoying the summer afternoon, browsing stalls selling flowers and souvenirs along the central pathway of Las Ramblas, an avenue that stretches more than a kilometre towards the sea. On a narrow street closeby, 45-year-old Benjamin, a Barcelona resident, stood staring at the spot where the van hit a stall.
“Where we can see the forensic police working, in their white suits, that’s where the van ran up against a kiosk,” said the industrial mechanic.
In the city of 1.6 million people — where nine million tourists come to stay every year — several cruise ships were also waiting as passengers tried to return to the pier.
The tragedy took the city by surprise: FC Barcelona was digesting a defeat to Real Madrid, the Catalan government was in the middle of its protracted fight for an independence referendum and security staff were striking at the airport.
But the city which hosted the Olympics in 1992 soon rallied in solidarity with those caught up in the devastation. The strike was suspended, taxis offered rides free of charge and volunteers rushed to donate blood, according to local media.
Hotels close to Las Ramblas welcomed tourists, offering them shelter and blankets. —