Human tower to honour Barcelona victims

The king and queen of Spain have visited the victims of the Barcelona terror attacks and crowds gathered at Las Ramblas to pay tribute to the dead and injured.

More than 20 people, including small children, have created a human tower among the crowds visiting the attack site on Barcelona's Las Ramblas promenade in homage to the victims.

The performance on Saturday was greeted by strong applause when a young child with a protective helmet on climbed over his colleagues to reach the top of the multi-level tower.

Building human towers, or castells, are a very popular cultural event in many town festivals in Catalonia and date back to the 18th century.

Meanwhile Spain's king and queen have paid a sombre visit to the Las Ramblas attack site in Barcelona, placing a wreath and two candles on the ground in memory of the victims.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were accompanied by Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont and Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau.

As he left, the king shook hands with bystanders. Shouts of "Long live the king!" and others for Spain, Catalonia and Barcelona could be heard.

Earlier, the royal couple met with victims hospitalised after Thursday's van attack, including one family in which two children and their father were recovering, and spoke with the medical staff at Barcelona's Hospital del Mar.

Catalonia's emergency services said by Saturday night, 53 attack victims remained in the hospital, with 13 of them in critical condition.


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Source: AAP



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