At least 84 people have been killed and 150 injured – including 50 children – after a truck crashed into a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day.
Horrifying pictures and videos have emerged of bodies strewn across the street after the lorry driver ploughed into revellers along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, southern France.
The truck driver was shooting from the window of the cab as he smashed through the throngs of people – many still in beachwear – at 40mph.
He then emerged shooting from the vehicle before being gunned down by police.
Guns and grenades were found in the back of the truck “suggesting a premeditated attack”. Other videos posted to Twitter show terrified people rushing away from the scene.
Panicked crowds, including a woman with a push chair, can be seen dashing for safety and falling over each other in their bid to escape.
Sebastien Humbert, prefect for the Alpes-Maritime area, told BFM TV: “A truck rammed into the crowd over a long distance, which explains this extremely heavy [death] toll.”
He added the truck driver had been shot dead and that he was treating the incident as an attack.
He drove at high speed for 100 metres before hitting the the crowd, according to reports.
One witness Tweeted: “I’m in Nice and I cannot describe the situation – scary awful.
“Dead bodies everywhere people killed in front of my eyes.
“Had to be planned.”
Harjit Sarang, 42, a surrogacy lawyer from London, was in the city with her husband and two young sons, aged six and nine.
She was caught up in the panic immediately after the incident as crowds rushed through the streets away from the main promenade.
Another witness told Europe1: “Everybody turned around and saw a massive truck, a 35 tonner, which went into the crowd, up onto the pavement and was crushing everybody.
People were flying in all directions, who were thrown in all directions, and he continued, continued on his route almost to the end of the Promenade without stopping.
“People started running in all directions, there was shouting, there were screams.
“There were scenes of panic everywhere and when I wanted to cross back to get home there were dead bodies everywhere, everywhere, everywhere, on the road, it was horrific.”
A picture has emerged showing a smashed up truck – allegedly the one involved in the incident.
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