BREAKING NEWS: At least 50 feared dead and shots fired as lorry RAMS into crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice leaving bodies strewn across the road in suspected Terror attack
- At least 50 people are feared dead and 150 have been injured in a Bastille Day attack in Nice, southern France
- Eyewitnesses reported a gunfight between police responding to the attack and suspects at the scene
- Gunmen are believed to have taken hostages in two hotel and a restaurant in the city according to witnesses
- Witnesses said the driver crashed his truck into a group of people, jumped down and opened fire with a gun
A lorry ran down a large group of people in the southern French city of Nice during a suspected terrorist attack. At least 50 people are feared dead with more than 100 injured during the Bastille Day attack.
Gunshots rang out in the streets, with gunmen targeting hotels and cafes in the port city as residents were warned to lock themselves in doors for their safety. Hostages have been taken in a hotel in the city. The RAID anti-terror squad has been deployed to the city.
It is believed the gunmen are holding hostages in the Meridien Hotel, the Hotel Negresco and the Buffalo Grill restaurant.
A lorry rammed into a large group of people who were celebrating Bastille Day before gunmen started firing.
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.
Eyewitnesses said there were ‘bodies everywhere’ with at least 100 people injured.
The truck driver is believed to have crashed his vehicle and jumped out and started shooting.
Police are also searching for an accomplice.
At this stage, police are describing the incident as ‘a major criminal attack’.
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
https://youtu.be/NeHiR-4rj0g
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.’
The lorry was seen mounting the pavement and piling into anyone the driver could see, ramming over those who tried to run away.
Regional newspaper Nice Matin quoted its own reporter at the scene saying there were many injured people and blood on the street. It published a photograph of a damaged, long-distance delivery truck, which it said was ‘riddled with bullets’ and images of emergency services treating the injured.
Damien Allemand, the paper’s correspondent, was quoted as saying: ‘People are running. It’s panic. He rode up onto the Prom and piled into the crowd … There are people covered in blood. There must be many injured.’
The area around the Promenade is full of hotels and restaurants, which that were all packed at the height of the holiday season.
France is still under a State of Emergency following last year’s attacks on Paris, when almost 150 people were murdered by ISIS and Al-Qaeda operatives.
An eyewitness has told The Associated Press that he saw a truck driver slam a vehicle into a crowd of revelers in the French resort city of Nice and then emerge shooting, killing many.
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.’
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.’
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.
At least 30 people were killed in the southern French town of Nice when a truck ran into a crowd celebrating the Bastille Day national holiday on Thursday night, French TV channel BFM TV said.
The truck rammed into the crowd on the Promenade des Anglais seaside walk in the centre of town, regional newspaper Nice Matin reported, citing its own reporter at the scene.
French television channel BFM TV said the local prefecture in Nice was treating the incident as an attack and was asking people to stay at home.
The reason for the crash remained unclear.
The Mayor of Nice has admitted that ‘dozens are feared dead’.
There have been reports of exchanges of gunfire at the scene.
Horrific images depicting men and women lying on the side of a road close to the Promenade des Anglais appeared on social media.
Several people have been injured as videos emerged showing people fleeing in panic. The crash itself was not shown however.
Fireworks were filling the night sky as the drama unfolded, as the crowds enjoyed July 14th, which is always a Bank Holiday in France.
France has been repeatedly targeted in recent months, but it is not yet known whether the incident is terror related.
The country is still under a State of Emergency following last year’s attacks on Paris, when almost 150 people were murdered by ISIS and Al-Qaeda operatives.
https://youtu.be/ktDnazsFHzg
https://youtu.be/gqfODxXRh_Q
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.
The attack comes as President Francois Hollande today announced that the state of emergency which France declared after last November’s deadly Paris attacks will be lifted on July 26.
Speaking after the Bastille Day parade in Paris, Hollande said: ‘We had to prolong the state of emergency until we could be sure that the law gives us the means to counter the terrorist threat effectively.’
The new law ‘will give us the tools which, while not comparable with the state of emergency, give us the means to keep tabs on certain individuals administratively,’ he added.
‘We can’t prolong the state of emergency forever. That would make no sense, it would mean that we were no longer a republic with laws which can apply in all circumstances,’ he said, while acknowledging that the threat ‘remains there.’
Almost exactly eight months ago ISIS militants killed 130 people on a Friday night in Paris in November.
‘Dear Nicois,’ local government leader Christian Estrosi wrote in a tweet. ‘The driver of a truck appears to have killed dozens of people. Stay at home for the time being. More news to follow.’
Regional newspaper Nice Matin quoted its own reporter at the scene saying there were many injured people and blood on the street. It published a photograph of a damaged, long-distance delivery truck, which it said was ‘riddled with bullets’ and images of emergency services treating the injured.
Damien Allemand, the paper’s correspondent, was quoted as saying: ‘People are running. It’s panic. He rode up onto the Prom and piled into the crowd ... There are people covered in blood. There must be many injured.’
Akademi Portal / News
AP News Türk / News
