80 people have been killed and 100 injured in the southern French town of Nice, when a truck ran into a crowd celebrating the Bastille Day national holiday on Thursday night.
The truck rammed into the crowd on the Promenade des Anglais seaside walk in the centre of town.
The driver, who drove at high speed for over 100 metres (yards) along the famed Promenade des Anglais seafront before hitting the mass of spectators, was shot dead. French police are describing it as a clear criminal attack, although the driver has not yet been identified.
The French President, Francois Hollande, who was returning from Avignon to Paris, has been briefed by officials about the incident.
US President Barack Obama has condemned the incident as ‘what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack’ in Nice.
A truck rammed into the crowd over a long distance, which explains this extremely heavy toll.Sebastien Humbert, Prefect for the Alpes-Maritime area
Humbert said the truck driver had been shot dead and that he was treating the incident as an attack for the moment.
The reason for the crash remained unclear.
(With Reuters inputs)
Residents of the Mediterranean city close to the Italian border were advised to stay indoors. There has been no other sign of any other attack.
Social media carried images of people lying apparently lifeless in pools of blood.
CNN said it has spoken to a witness, identified as an American pilot, who saw the truck ramming the crowd. The witness said the driver mowed people down, accelerating as he hit them. The witness said there was only one person in the truck.
World leaders have offered their condolences in the wake of the attack as #PrayForNice is trending on Twitter.
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