There was no hostage situation, French interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told BFM TV.
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In a Twitter message, Christian Estrosi, the mayor of Nice, said the truck was carrying arms and explosives when it struck the crowd at about 10:30 p.m. local time.
CNN reports the person driving the truck was a male and is believed there was no gunfire coming from the truck.
“We saw people hit and bits of debris flying around”. But in a speech in the early hours of Friday morning, he said, “I have decided that the state of emergency that was supposed to have ended on the 26th of July will be extended three months”.
The Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation for “murder, attempted murder in an organized group linked to a terrorist enterprise”.
Nearly exactly eight months ago Islamic State militants killed 130 people in Paris on November 13, the bloodiest in a number of attacks in France and Belgium in the past two years. It comes nearly exactly eight months after Islamic State militants killed 130 people on a Friday night in Paris in November.
The Mediterranean city of Nice, with its pebble beaches and clear blue water, has been a magnet for sun-seekers and the jet-set since the 19th century. She told The World that they hid the people upstairs and in the basement, not knowing who was behind the attack.
“We were eating and a huge crowd ran into us and we didn’t know what was going on”, said Maryam Violet.
“People were tripping over and trying to get into hotel lobbies and restaurants or vehicle parks or anywhere they could to get away from the street”.
France’s ambassador to the United States, Gerard Araud, characterized the events in Nice as a “terrorist attack”.
Bastille Day is similar to the Fourth of July in the U.S. It celebrates the storming of the Bastille, a prison in the center of Paris.
The Department of Foreign Affairs was making “urgent enquiries” to determine if any Australians were hurt in the incident, which took place near the city’s famed Hotel Negresco.
However celebrations were quickly overshadowed.
“I can’t take the stress – my niece Isabella texted me to tell me she and her friend ran across Nice to get away from the disgusting Bastille Day attack in Nice, France to get to the home they are staying at.” he posted. Stay for the moment in your homes.
National Assembly member Eric Ciotti said on France Info radio called the area “a scene of horror”.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is being briefed on the “terrible incident” in Nice and the United Kingdom authorities stand ready to assist their French counterparts, Downing Street said on Friday.
President Barack Obama on Thursday said he condemned a deadly attack in Nice and offered any assistance France needs to investigate.
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An attacker drove a truck at high speed into crowds of Bastille Day revelers in the French Riviera, killing at least 60 and wounding dozens. “Canadians are deeply saddened by this tragedy and we stand in solidarity with the people of France on their national day”.
