As Barcelona mourns for the lives of those lost in the horrific terrorist attacks earlier this week, Spanish police have confirmed that the death toll could have been much higher.

13 people died in the attack on Las Ramblas, and up to 100 are injured after the man deliberately drove onto a pedestrian path.

However, the terrorists who were planning the attacks had their ultimate plan foiled, after the house they were storing explosives in blew up accidentally. 

It was originally believed that the house was a street drug lab, but it is now reported that a house in the Alcanar region was used to store home made explosives. 

After the building was toppled on Wednesday night and the explosives lost, it is reported that those orchestrating the attacks turned to using the vehicles as a weapons instead. 

'The explosion in Alcanar stopped larger attacks from happening because they no longer had some of the material they needed,' Catalan police chief Josep Lluis Trapero told Bloomberg.

 Police are still looking for the driver of the van and a nationwide man hunt is under way