By: Serina Sandhu
Source: iNews
An Australian woman who is travelling in Europe and was caught up in the Barcelona terror attack has said that it is the the third attack she has experienced on her trip. Julia Monaco, who was in a shopping centre on the corner of Las Ramblas when a van drove into citizens and tourists walking on the Catalonia capital’s famous street, was also in London at the time of the London Bridge terror attack and in Paris when a man attacked a police officer at Notre Dame cathedral. Both incidents happened in June. Describing what happened in Barcelona, Ms Monaco told BBC 5 Live: “There was a little bit of commotion in the store about the doors being closed and nobody [being] allowed to leave.” She said the situation did not seem serious at that stage.
‘Absolute pandemonium’
“One minute everything was fine and the next it was absolute pandemonium. Everyone just started screaming and running, being told to get away from the windows and we were forced back into the store with nowhere to go. “We were forced to lie face down on the ground and we were stuck in that position for about 20 minutes, very unclear as to what was happening on the outside.” Ms Monaco, who sought shelter behind a table of clothes, said other people in the shop were crying and screaming. “It was definitely high in terms of the stress levels, everyone was very, very scared.” Speaking after being allowed to leave the store, Ms Monaco said she was feeling thankful that she was able to go back to her accommodation.
‘We feel OK’
She said that she still has three weeks of her trip to go but that she was not feeling scared about continuing, despite being caught up in three attacks. “[We’re] thinking we may have a black mark against our name so we’re not going to tell anyone where we’re going next. “We feel OK, we are nearing the end of our holiday. We’re just going to keep going like everything is fine,” she said.