80 killed, several injured as truck ploughs into crowd in France

TIL Desk/World/Nice (France)-At least 80 people were killed and scores injured in the French resort of Nice when a truck ploughed into a crowd on Thursday. The attack took place after fireworks display on Bastille Day, a French national holiday, officials have said.  The driver of the truck was shot dead after barrelling two kilometres (1.3 miles) through the crowd on the palm-lined Promenade des Anglais yesterday, sending hundreds fleeing in terror and leaving the area strewn with bodies.

“An individual drove a truck into the crowd. He was killed by police,” said interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet. US President Barack Obama condemned “what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack”, although no group had claimed responsibility for the incident. A lawmaker for the Alpes-Maritime region, Eric Ciotti, said at least 75 people had been killed and another 15 were in a “critical” condition.

Hours after the attack, dozens of bodies lay on the ground covered in white sheets. Prosecutors said the probe would be handled by anti-terrorist investigators. “Investigations are currently under way to establish if the individual acted alone or if he had accomplices who might have fled,” the interior ministry spokesman said, but he denied reports that a hostage-taking incident had taken place. President Francois Hollande’s office said he would preside over a meeting of the country’s defence and security chiefs today.