On 17th August, the world was hit by yet another tragic terror attack, in the Spanish city of Barcelona.
At 5.15pm, a white van stormed through the popular – and incredibly busy – tourist area Las Ramblas, running over crowds of people gathered in the area to enjoy a sunny afternoon with their friends and family.
The devastating rampage has left 13 people dead (at the time of reporting), and over 100 people injuried. The driver of the van is believed to be Moussa Oukabir, who is still on the run from police. Gunshots were heard after the attack and there were claims – later denied officially – that the driver had taken hostages in a nearby Turkish restaurant. Later, five more terror suspects, wearing fake suicide bomber vests, were shot dead in nearby coastal town of Cambrils after they drove into pedestrians in the country’s second terror attack in a day.
A famous face many of us will recognise was caught up in the La Ramblas attack, live tweeting the terrifying events as they unfolded, hiding in a freezer in a nearby restaurant. Laila Rouass, who played Sahira Shah on Holby City between 2011 and 2012, tweeted at 6.19pm, sharing the news. She wrote “In the middle of the attack. Hiding in a restaurant freezer. Happened so fast. Praying for the safety of everyone here.”
[twitter]https://twitter.com/lailarouass/status/898232858342547458[/twitter]
Worried fans flocked to the actresses Twitter page with messages of support at her scary news. One fan wrote, “Stay safe @lailarouass, hope you’re ok x”, while another said, “Omg Laila hope all ok now, xx”
Laila continued to live-tweet the event, sharing with her followers the events as they happened.
She described everything she could hear from the street outside, including gunshots and police running to catch the suspect.
[twitter]https://twitter.com/lailarouass/status/898250202108248064[/twitter]
[twitter]https://twitter.com/lailarouass/status/898252118578020352[/twitter]
The actress also posted a video of a helicopter hovering above her, showing she had some access to the outside world.
[twitter]https://twitter.com/lailarouass/status/898253503130370048[/twitter]
[twitter]https://twitter.com/lailarouass/status/898254459096182784[/twitter]
She also revealed breaking news from the scene of the attack, sharing the development that police had been hit with a car, and that gunshots were heard.
[twitter]https://twitter.com/lailarouass/status/898255942361501697[/twitter]
[twitter]https://twitter.com/lailarouass/status/898256274382626819[/twitter]
The actress later tweeted again after suspect ‘had been shot’, but resports on the driver’s wearabouts are still inconclusive. Spanish police have arrested Driss Oukabir, who was originally thought to be the attacker, but he has denied involvement, putting the blame on his younger brother Moussa Oukabir, who is currently on the run for police.
She gratefully thanked restaurant staff for keeping her and others safe amid the chaos.
[twitter]https://twitter.com/lailarouass/status/898259811984326657[/twitter]
But it seems the former Holby City star wasn’t the only famous face to have narrowly missed being directly involved in the carnage.
In the days leading up to the terror attack, Doctor Foster star Suranne Jones shared Instagram pictures with fans of her holiday in Barcelona. Just one day before the terrifying news, Suranne posted a happy picture of her and her husband sitting out on a street in the city of Barcelona.
She wrote, “#barcelona … you’ve been wonderful…. #perfectgetaway .. the company wasn’t bad either… #backtowork”
[instagram]https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5OmplhthV/?taken-by=suranne_jones[/instagram]
Luckily, it seems that Suranne had made it home before the events of the Las Ramblas attack unfolded, tweeting a picture in homage to the city…
[instagram]https://www.instagram.com/p/BX54YcChEbN/?taken-by=suranne_jones[/instagram]
The actress then continued to post photos of her time in Barcelona in tribute to the city, explaining how hearbroken she was at the horrific events.
[instagram]https://www.instagram.com/p/BX6OpDbhop7/?taken-by=suranne_jones[/instagram]
The city will now observe a three day period of mourning. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the events in Spain.
