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A flash-mob prank gone wrong caused chaos and panic in a small beach town on the Costa Brava in Catalonia on Tuesday night, according to eyewitness reports from the scene and regional emergency services.
Diners in restaurants in Platja d'Aro, in the Girona province of Catalonia in north-eastern Spain, saw a group of men arrive in an apparently aggressive manner and decided it might be a jihadi attack, with hundreds fleeing the scene.
The Mossos, Catalonia's regional police force, tweeted an "IMPORTANT MESSAGE In Platja D'Aro there has been an incident in the streets whose cause was a flash mob or similar. NO SHOTS FIRED".
They also asked people not to spread false rumours on social media.
The regional emergency services coordinator tweeted: "URGENT There've been relevant incidents in #PlatjadAro streets caused by a flash mob or similar that derived in stampede IT'S A FALSE ALARM". They also tweeted in German.