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Dozens feared dead after lorry crashes in crowd at Bastille Day celebration in Nice, France | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Dozens are reportedly dead after a lorry crashed in a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day in southern France. | |
Hundreds were reported fleeing the scene after the vehicle careered into people who had gathered to celebrate the country's official independence day. | Hundreds were reported fleeing the scene after the vehicle careered into people who had gathered to celebrate the country's official independence day. |
The incident is believed to have happened on the Promenade des Anglais at around 10:30pm local time during a firework display in what local officials are treating as an attack, French media has said. | |
Nice's mayor Christian Estrosi has tweeted "tens of people" had been killed in the crash and urged people to stay indoors. | |
There have also reportedly been exchanges of gunfire between the driver and the police. The truck was reportedly seen "riddled with bullets" and the driver is dead. | |
French media is reporting that as many as 30 people have been killed. | |
The cause of the crash has not been officially confirmed but witnesses have suggested the driver knew what he was doing. | |
British witness Roy Calley told the BBC shots between the driver and police were fired as soon as they began to approach. | |
Another witness told local newspaper Nice Matin: "We were at Neptune Beach and the fireworks ended so we started to head back. | |
"At that moment we saw the white lorry. It was around six tonnes and going at around 60-70km per hour. | |
"I saw behind the wheel. The driver was decided on where he was going. It happened two metres from us. I saw people lying, I saw a child on the ground". | |
One image on Twitter shows dozens of people lying injured on the floor with another showing a white lorry stopped in the middle of the street with four police officers observing it from a nearby palm tree. | One image on Twitter shows dozens of people lying injured on the floor with another showing a white lorry stopped in the middle of the street with four police officers observing it from a nearby palm tree. |
It comes just hours after Frecnch president Francois Hollande announced the state of emergency which had been in place since the Paris attack in November would be lifted on 26 July. | |
He has now announced he would be returning to Paris following the incident. | |
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