BREAKING-FRANTA UNDER ATTACK- 73 DEAD ‘ after truck crashes into crowd at Bastille Day celebrations in Nice ‘terror attack’
- Truck crashes into crowd at Bastille Day celebration in Nice
- 73 people reported killed
- Fears of terrorism as people flee scene in panic
‘We thought they were fireworks because it’s the 14th of July’
One eyewitness told France’s BFM TV: “Everyone was calling run, run, run there’s an attack run, run, run. We heard some shots. We thought they were fireworks because it’s the 14th of July.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WiEmchx1B8
‘Bodies everywhere’
Wassim Bouhlel, a Nice native who spoke to the AP near Nice’s Promenade du Paillon, said that he saw a truck drive into the crowd and then witnessed the man emerge with a gun and start shooting.
“There was carnage on the road,” Bouhlel said. “Bodies everywhere.”
Mayor of Nice tweets
Nice mayor Christian Estrosi, who was at the celebration when it happened, tweeted: “Dear people of Nice, the driver of a truck seems to have left dozens dead. Stay for now in your home. More info to come.”
‘It’s absolute chaos’
A spokesman for the Alpes Maritime prefecture advised locals to ‘stay indoors’ as gunfire was heard, and a lorry was driven into a crowd on the Promenade des Anglais, Peter Allen reports.
Bodies could be seen lying on the floor by the beach, as the police and other emergency services tried to deal with a mass panic.
Fireworks were filling the night sky as the drama unfolded, as the crowds enjoyed July 14th, which is always a Bank Holiday in France.
“It is absolute chaos,” said an eye witness who works in the Nice judiciary.
“There are reports of dozens of people killed, and many more injured. Bodies are lying everywhere.
“Police are flooding the streets, including anti-terrorism officers. Nobody knows what to do, except to hide away. Gunmen are meant to be targeting hotels.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttvfSHRRfZg
The lorry was seen mounting the pavement and piling into anyone the driver could see, ramming over those who tried to run away.
The area around the Promenade is full of hotels and restaurants, which that were all packed at the height of the holiday season.
Driver of truck ‘shot dead’
Reports on French tv that the driver of the truck was shot dead by police.
Witnesses describe there being “bodies everywhere”.
More footage of people fleeing in paniC
30 people reported killed
French tv states up to 30 people have been killed.
BFM TV reported “dozens of dead” in Nice. “It’s total panic,” a witness told the channel by telephone. “We saw a white lorry which drove directly into people on the Promenade des Anglais. A gunman fired into the crowd before being shot by police. Perhaps they are dead, I’m not sure.”
Local authorities state it is an attack and several gunshots have been heard, French TV reports
Police and ambulances went to the scene and authorities from the local Alpes-Maritimes prefecture urged residents to stay indoors.
An AFP reporter described seeing a white van driving at high speed onto the famed Promenade des Anglais as people were leaving after the annual Bastille Day celebration display.
“We saw people hit and bits of debris flying around,” he said.
Fears of terrorism
A truck has crashed into a crowd of revelers celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice – prompting fears of terrorism, Peter Allenreports.
Horrific images depicting men and women lying on the side of a road close to the Promenade des Anglais appeared on social media.
Videos and photographs also showed thousands fleeing in panic following reports of loud explosions.
Fireworks were filling the night sky as the drama unfolded, as the crowds enjoyed July 14th, which is always a Bank Holiday in France.
The country is still under a State of Emergency following last year’s attacks on Paris, when almost 150 people were murdered by Islamic State and Al-Qaeda operatives.
Both groups are well known for driving vehicles into innocent people, prompting fears that tonight’s incident could be linked to their activities.
Bastille Day, which celebrates the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris during the French Revolution of 1789, is the country’s biggest public holiday.
Picture of the truck
This is apparently the truck that hit a crowd of people in Nice:
Several injured
Several people have been injured after a vehicle crashed into a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day, AFP reports.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVV1V34hBd4
Unconfirmed reports of gunshots in Nice
There are also reports in France that gunshots were heard in Nice.
However, the reports are unconfirmed by French officials and there was a fireworks display as part of the celebrations.
Truck ‘crashes into crowd’
Reports that a truck has crashed into a crowd at a Bastille Day celebration in Nice, southern France.
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