A number of children are among the dead after a lorry ploughed through a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day in Nice last night.
As the death toll hit eighty-four people this morning, 18 more people were said to be in critical condition in hospital and at least 50 more have been injured, as local blood banks appeal for donations.
jss dans nice y’a des mouvements de foule de mutant on sait pas pk pic.twitter.com/ByXnaig0Qk
— yannick (@yvnnick) July 14, 2016
A state of emergency put in place following the Paris attacks in November has been extended for a further three months in France, with President Francois Hollande describing the latest attack as being of “an undeniable terrorist nature”.
“France is filled with sadness by this new tragedy,” Mr Hollande said, before pledging to ‘hit’ ISIS in Syria and Iraq ‘even harder’.
In a statement today, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny said French people “have suffered appallingly and have again been the victim of cynical, and wanton violence.”
“We cannot and will not yield to this malevolence. On behalf of myself, the Government and the Irish people I want to express our deepest sympathies and our solidarity to President Hollande and to all of France.”
The driver of the truck, who was carrying the documents of a French Tunisian man, aged 31, from Nice, is reported to have driven for more than 2km along the Promenade des Anglais, where revellers had just gathered to watch a fireworks display to celebrate Bastille Day.
The attack reportedly began around 10.30pm local time, with the attacker later shot and killed by police, having also opened fire. The unmarked truck he was driving was found to contain guns and explosives.
Shocking images of the carnage include a photo of the body of a young girl lying in the street, a pink doll strewn on the ground by her side.
The image, taken by Reuters’ Eric Gaillard, illustrates the true horror of the attack, with eyewitnesses giving chilling accounts of the carnage.
One mother who found her family in the middle of the horror told France’s iTélé: “My husband picked up the kids and started running, I turned around and just saw so many dead people. I even saw a baby with its head totally crushed,”
Irish citizens in #Nice who need to contact the Embassy can do so at 0144176700. Stay safe and follow instructions of local authorities.
— Irish Embassy Paris (@IrlEmbParis) July 14, 2016
The Irish Embassy in Paris has asked anyone who needs assistance in Nice to contact them at +33 (0)144176700.
