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Nice attack: What we know so far after lorry drives into crowd on Bastille Day in France

People fled into the sea to escape the lorry hurtling towards them, reports say

Harriet Agerholm
Friday 15 July 2016 09:49 EDT
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What happened in Nice: 84 killed as lorry drives through crowd

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Dozens are dead after a lorry drove into crowds celebrating France's national day in Nice.

President Francois Hollande said 84 people were dead including "many" children and 50 "between life and death".

He condemned the attack as a "monstrosity".

Here's what we know so far:

  • At least 84 people have been killed after a lorry ploughed into crowds gathered for Bastille Day fireworks on the Promenade des Anglais at around 11pm local time.
  • Many more are reportedly injured, including 14 who are in intensive care.
  • The attacker, a 31-year-old Tunisian-born Frenchman named as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, was known to police but not for terrorism offences. 
  • Mr Bouhlel purportedly did not show any signs of extremism and was not particularly religious.
  • There are unconfirmed reports French police have made an arrest.
  • At 2pm local time on Friday, Nice airport was evacuated, reportedly after unattended luggage was found.
  • Police killed the driver after gunfire was exchanged.
  • There are reports the 25-tonne truck was travelling at about 50km/h when it hit the people gathered. People ran into the sea to try to escape, AP reports.
  • Witnesses say the driver was "zigzagging", maximising casualties, as he drove for 2km (1.2 miles) through the crowds.
  • Police say the rampage may have been even worse if a member of the public had not jumped into the lorry's cab and wrestled with the driver, The Independent's France correspondent John Lichfield reports.
  • Twenty-eight German schoolchildren who were on a school trip in Nice are unaccounted for, according to ITV News.
  • The names of some of the victims have emerged. So far two US citizens and a Swiss woman are confirmed dead.
  • Sean Copeland, from Austin, Texas, and his ten-year old son were among those killed.
Courtesy of the Copeland Family
Courtesy of the Copeland Family (Copeland Family)
  • Mr Estrosi, Nice's president, said security cameras had captured the moment the attacker boarded the lorry "in the hills of Nice".
  • He added such massacres are not planned alone and he expected the "chain of complicity" be uncovered.
  • The national state of emergency, declared following November's Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed, was due to expire on 26 July but will now be extended by three months.
  • Hospitals in the city have appealed for blood donations.
  • Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, said one Briton is known to be injured after the massacre.
  • London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, said London will review its security procedures following the atrocity.
  • Mr Hollande has announced increased security measures, including calling up "operational reserves" to help police, particularly at borders, AP reports.
  • France's prosecutor Francois Mollins has taken over the investigation into the attack and will hold a press conference at 5pm local time.

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