Two major terror attacks rocked the cities of Barcelona and Cambrils in Spain’s Catalonia region in mid-August, stoking fears of the continuing rise of terrorism in Europe. The first attack happened in Barcelona when a van driven by the terrorists plowed through the busy La Rambla street, killing at least 16 people and leaving many others injured. About nine hours after the incident in Barcelona, another attempted ramming took place at Passeig Miramar of Cambrils where police killed five attackers. A woman was also killed while several others including a police officer were wounded in the attack. A police investigation later revealed that both the attacks as well as an explosion at a home in Alcanar, were linked. These attacks were regarded as the worst terror incident in the country since the Madrid train bombings in 2004.
Several SAFEY users in the area received timely alerts of the attacks and were able to check-in using the new SAFEY Are You OK? check in feature, as seen in this local broadcast covering SAFEY’s performance during the attack.
