At least 13 people are dead and more than 50 are injured after a terrorist in a van ploughed into pedestrians in a famous street packed with tourists and locals in central Barcelona.

The van zigzagged as it slammed into victims on tree-lined Las Ramblas promenade before the armed attacker ditched the vehicle.

One of the suspected attackers was killed in a shootout with police on the outskirts of the city, local media reported.

Photos and video posted online show bodies, some motionless, scattered on the floor and victims being helped at Placa de Catalunya.

Video shows a stampede as terrified witnesses flee through the streets after the vehicle slammed into people on the street which is highly popular with tourists.

The city's metro and train stations have been shut and people have been ordered to stay away from the city centre and stay indoors.

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Police confirmed about three hours after the attack that 13 people were dead and more than 50 were hurt.

One of the vans was rented by a man called Driss Oukabir, state television channel TVE reported.

Local media said Oukabir, who lives in a city north of Barcelona and is of Moroccan origin, was being hunted by police and it was not clear if he was among the attackers.

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

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No terror group had claimed responsibility for the attack, which was celebrated by ISIS and its supporters on social media.

After the van attack, the driver was said to have been holed up inside a restaurant nearby.

But police later confirmed that they had arrested a suspect elsewhere and no-one was inside the restaurant.

The El Periodico newspaper had earlier reported gunfire in the La Boqueria food market.

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Witnesses described terrifying scenes as the van went through a red light and mowed down people as they crossed the street and then mounted a pavement to run down more victims, zigzagging at high speed.

The rented van crashed into a kiosk on the boulevard before the attacker fled on foot.

Aamer Anwar was walking down Las Ramblas at the time, which he said was "jam-packed" with tourists.

He told Sky News: "All of a sudden, I just sort of heard a crashing noise and the whole street just started to run, screaming. I saw a woman right next to me screaming for her kids.

"Police were very, very quickly there, police officers with guns, batons, everywhere. Then the whole street started getting pushed back."

Mr Anwar described the scene as "chaos", with everyone in "panic mode".

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He added: "Police officers who got there just started screaming at people to move back, move back.

"One of the shopkeepers tried to speak to him. He said he saw five or six people seriously injured on the ground, a van had driven into people.

"And literally within probably 30 seconds, police vans, ambulances, police officers with guns, were piling out and we were being sectioned off and then being pushed rapidly back down Ramblas."

Steve Garrett was in a nearby market and sheltered in a bakery with several others after streams of people ran inside.

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One member of the group, who took refuge with him, said she had heard gunshots after the incident.

Mr Garrett told the BBC: "A very large number of people ran into the market area in a big kind of way, lots of screaming, lots of shouting.

"The security guards immediately responded. We ran into the bakery with four or five other people and ran straight upstairs and hunkered down whilst an enormous wave of people went through the market.

"Obviously coming from England it was reminding me a great deal of what happened in London, so we were very concerned about what might be going on next.

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"The lady that was with us said she heard some gunshots."

Mr Garrett said a "second wave" of people then entered the market, followed by armed police.

He said: "They seemed to sweep through the market area. They seemed to be looking for someone. They were going very carefully, very cautiously, stall to stall."

Tom Gueller, who lives on an adjoining road, was forced to flee the scene when he saw the van hurtling through the crowds.

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He told the BBC: "I heard screams and a bit of a crash and then I just saw the crowd parting and this van going full pelt down the middle of the Ramblas and I immediately knew that it was a terrorist attack or something like that.

"I ran away, I mean I live near, I had to run back about 50 metres or so and go up to my flat and obviously see what's happening on the road from my balcony."

Asked about the van, he said: "It wasn't slowing down at all. It was just going straight through the middle of the crowds in the middle of the Ramblas."

Mr Gueller said many of the shops had pulled their shutters down and armed police were positioned on street corners, with cordons in place on the road.

Susan Maclean, who is on holiday in Barcelona with her husband, said she was "very lucky" to have avoided the van as it ploughed through the crowds.

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She told Channel 4 News: "All of a sudden, there was this screaming and hordes of people, like a tidal wave of people, fear etched in their faces, running towards us, many of them yelling in Spanish.

"We had no idea what was going on. My first thought was this is a terrorist attack."

She said she felt "unbridled fear" during the incident where she was barricaded into a nearby shop for safety.

Ms Maclean said: "It was very difficult to know what was going on.

"People were shouting. We could hear the word 'shooting, shooting'. We weren't really sure whether that was shooting as in the English or a Spanish word so it was just unbridled fear."

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El Periodico said the CIA had warned local police two months ago that Las Ramblas could be the scene of a terrorist attack.

Catalan police have activated emergency protocols, and were searching a second van in Vic, about 40 miles from Barcelona.

A witness named Angel said he had seen the attacker close up and described him as “a young man, maximum 25 years old, chestnut brown hair and skinny".

Others described him as about 5ft 5ins tall and wearing a blue and white striped top.

Another witness, Isaac, said: “The person was accelerating. He mounted the pavement to run people over. We saw the van passing by running people over at 80km an hour (50mph). It was as if it was driving through a field of corn.”

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A taxi driver told Catalan TV station TV3: “The van was doing zigzags knocking over everyone he could. It was shocking.”

Police were reported to have found a Spanish passport inside the van.

Locals and tourists were told to avoid central Barcelona in the aftermath of the attack which occurred at about 5pm local time.

The white van that hit the pedestrians was pictured with significant damage to its front end and was surrounded by police after it was abandoned by the driver.

Several victims were seen on the floor nearby as they were helped by witnesses, police and paramedics.

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Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he was in contact with authorities, and the priority was to attend to the injured.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said the UK "stands with Spain against terror" as she condemned the "terrible" assault.

She said: "My thoughts are with the victims of today's terrible attack in Barcelona and the emergency services responding to this ongoing incident.

"The UK stands with Spain against terror."

Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump wrote on Twitter: "The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help. Be tough & strong, we love you!"

British tourists were advised to follow the advice of local authorities.

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A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are in contact with the Spanish authorities and seeking more information following an incident in Barcelona.

"Anyone in the area should follow the advice of the emergency services."

Abta, representing British travel agents, said: "Holidaymakers in Barcelona should stay away from the Las Ramblas area of the city, follow the advice of local authorities and monitor the Foreign & Commonwealth Office travel advice for Spain.

"This advice also applies to people imminently due to travel to Barcelona.”

All public events in the city, including the Festa Major de Gràcia, have been cancelled.

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The incident took place at the height of the tourist season in Barcelona, which is one of Europe's top travel destinations with at least 11 million visitors a year, including many Brits.

Thursday's attack is the latest in Europe where terrorists have used vehicles as weapons to run down people in the street.

One of the most recent incidents occurred in London in June, when three terrorists launched a van and knife attack in London Bridge and Borough Market, leaving eight dead.

The attackers were shot dead by police.

Other recent vehicle attacks have occurred in Westminster in central London, Berlin and Nice, France.