A white refrigerated truck drove into a crowd of several thousand people attending a festive Bastille Day fireworks celebration on the Promenade des Anglais avenue that lines the beach of the French Riviera capital Nice, during which at least 80 people died, French officials said early Friday. At least 100 others were reported to have been injured, about 20 seriously.
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Witnesses said the truck plowed into the revellers over a distance of several hundred metres, mounting the crowd-filled pavements and road.
French news agency AFP later reported that the truck had zigzagged through the crowd over a distance of two kilometres.
The French government has issued a hotline for information for those seeking information about victims of the attack: from inside France dial 01 43 17 56 46. From outside France this becomes (international code) + 33 1 43 17 56 46.
Radio FM 104 Tweeted: “The Irish Embassy in Paris has asked anyone who needs assistance in #Nice to contact them at +33 (0)1 44 17 67 00.”
Shooting was heard at the scene, although it was not clear whether this was from police officers attempting to neutralize the driver, or whether the occupant, or occupants, of the truck had fired into the crowd. The driver of the truck is reported by witnesses to have been killed by police fire.
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The local police prefect issued an appeal for people present at the scene and the inhabitants of Nice regain their homes and accommodation and remain inside.
A witness close to the scene told Mediapart that he had heard muffled sounds he described as “tac, tac, tac”, but said he could not detail what they were from. “I saw an enormous truck charge straight towards us, taking dozens of people in its course,” he said. “People cried out, some threw themselves into the water out of fear. Others found refuge in the bars of the Old Town, close to the Promenade [des anglais].”
A phone number has been issued by Nice’s central hospital for relatives of feared victims seeking information: This is 04 93 72 22 22 from inside France, and from outside France: (international code) + 33 (France) + 4 93 72 22 22.
In a Tweet at 12.48 a.m. local time the French interior ministry confirmed that the driver of ther truck had been “neutralized”.
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Christian Estrosi, former conservative mayor of Nice, now president of the local regional council, said in an interview with French media that a “major personality of the French police force” had been killed in the attack. Estrosi added that the driver of the truck had opened fire on the crowd around him and said that the truck was found to contain arms and grenades.
French interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told French news agency AFP: “There is no hostage-taking.” His comments followed reports of possible accomplices having set up siege in nearby restaurants.
“An individual drove a truck into the crowd. He was killed by police,” said Brandet.
“Investigations are currently under way to establish if the individual acted alone or if he had accomplices who might have fled,” he added.
US President Barak Obama issued a statement shortly after 2 a.m. CET. It read:
“On behalf of the American people, I condemn in the strongest terms what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack in Nice, France, which killed and wounded dozens of innocent civilians. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and other loved ones of those killed, and we wish a full recovery for the many wounded.
I have directed my team to be in touch with French officials, and we have offered any assistance that they may need to investigate this attack and bring those responsible to justice. We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack.
On this Bastille Day, we are reminded of the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that have made France an inspiration to the entire world, and we know that the character of the French Republic will endure long after this devastating and tragic loss of life.”
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BBC News reported that an AFP reporter said the incident took place as the firework display was ending, adding: "We saw people hit and bits of debris flying around."
The anti-terrorist branch of the Paris public prosecutor’s office has been appointed to lead the investigation into the attack.
US Republican Party candidate for the US presidency Donald Trump said he would delay announcing his running mate for the November elections in the wake of the Nice attacks. In a message posted on Twitter, Trump said: “In light of the horrible attack in Nice, France, I have postponed tomorrow's news conference concerning my Vice Presidential announcement.”
The Nice bureau of the national French police force issued a statement on Twitter appealing for people to refrain from posting photos of the carnage on the internet. “Out of respect for the victims and their families,” it read, “do not contribute to the broadcasting of photos or videos of the crime scene.”
Damien Allemand, who presents himself as the head of digital services of local daily newspaper Nice Matin, recounts in a blog post:
“It was a cool evening. The atmosphere was good, the firework display pretty nice, kids threw pebbles into the water and the system screwed up. In short, it was a cool evening. The Prom [Promenade des Anglais] was full of people. Like for every July 14th. I chose to spend the evening on the beach at the High Club, right where the Prom’ was pedestrian-only. As of the end of the show, we all got up, at the same time, in the direction of the stairs, everyone squeezed together like sardines. I zigzagged between people to get to my scooter, parked just nearby. From afar was a noise. Shouts. My first thought : a clever so-and-so had wanted to set off his fireworks party and hadn’t controlled it. .. But no. A fraction of a second later, an enormous truck ran at a mad speed over people, making turns on the steering wheel to pick off a maximum off people. This truck ofdeath passed a few metres away from me and I didn’t realize. I saw bodies fly like bowling skittles on its passage, heard cries that I will never forget. I was paralised. I didn’t move. I followed this hearse with my eyes. Around me was panic. People ran, cried out, weeped. Then i realised. And I ran with them. Direction the Cocodile, where everyone came to find refuge. I stayed only a few minutes, but which seemed an eternity. “Don’t stay there”, “Where’s my son? Where’s my son?”. Words heard around me.”
“I wanted absolutely to know what had happened. So I went outside. The Prom’ was deserted. No noise. Not a siren. No cars. So I went across the central reservation to return to the place where the truck had crossed. I came across Raymond, around 50-years-old, in tears, who hissed: “There are dead everywhere.” He was right. Just behind him, lifeless bodies every five metres, limbless…blood. There was wailing. The beach personnel were the first at the spot. They brought water for the injured, and towels which they placed there where there was no further hope. At that moment, I lacked courage. I wanted to help, to be of service…in short, to do something. But I didn’t succeed. Paralised, again. A second wave of panic took me back to the Cocodile. “He’s coming back ! He’s coming back!” It was not so. The killer-truck had finished its course a dozen metres further forward, peppered with bullets. I hadn’t heard any shots. Just shouts. And now crying. Only crying...
I head off on my path, straight forward. Regained my scooter to get the furthest away from this hell. I went back along the Prom’ and I realized the extent of the drama. Bodies and the injured were strewn on the pavement up until the Lenvel. The first ambulances began arriving…This evening, it was horror.”
Mediapart political correspondent Ellen Salvi reported that early editions of local regional daily Nice-Matin said that 75 people were killed in the attack (see Nice-Matin front page below).
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- Further reporting will follow on Friday.