At least 84 die in lorry attack on Bastille Day crowd

At least 84 people, including several children, died after a terrorist drove a truck through crowds celebrating Bastille Day in Nice.

Eyewitnesses said the killer - being said to be a 31-year-old French-Tunisian man - swerved from side to side to kill as many people as possible as he drove for hundreds of metres along the Promenade des Anglais on the seafront of the city in the south of France.

At first horrified onlookers assumed the driver had lost control.

But one witness said he then produced a gun before being shot by police.

As sun rose on Friday morning, the lorry could still be seen where it finally came to a halt, its windscreen peppered with bullet holes.

As French President Francois Hollande said the country's state of emergency would be extended for another three months, French media reported that the killer was known to police but for petty crime, not terrorism.

Mr Hollande led a wave of condemnation from world leaders, saying: "France has been hit by a tragedy once again. This monstrosity of using a lorry to deliberately kill people, many people, who only came out to celebrate their national day.

"France is in tears. It is hurting but it is strong, and she will be strong, always stronger than the fanatics who wish to hurt us," he said.

He also said a military operation was in place which would allow the mobilisation of 10,000 troops and that police from across the country would be called to assist their colleagues in Nice.

The country's borders were being tightened, said Mr Hollande, as he vowed that France would show "real force and military action in Syria and Iraq".

In a press conference at the scene, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said: "We are in a war with terrorists who want to strike us at any price and in a very violent way."

Nice regional president Christian Estrosi said guns and grenades were found in the lorry.

The politician, who was at the celebration when the carnage happened, said: "This is the worst Nice drama of history.

"We are terrified and we want to present to all the families our sincere condolences."

Nice prosecutor Jean-Michel Prette said bodies were strewn along the road.

Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said no hostages had been taken and the lorry driver had been "neutralised", adding that authorities were investigating if he was acting alone.

Sources were cited as saying the suspect was known to police in connection with common law crimes but not to French intelligence services.

US president Barack Obama has condemned the attack "in the strongest terms".

In a statement tweeted by the White House, the president offered assistance to French officials to investigate and "bring those responsible to justice".

He said his "thoughts and prayers" were with the loved ones of those killed and wished those wounded a full recovery.

Pictures and video footage on social media showed crowds fleeing in terror from the scene on the Promenade des Anglais, which was busy with revellers celebrating and watching fireworks.

Eyewitnesses reported hearing gunshots, and pictures on social media showed armed police with weapons trained on the white lorry.

France is still on alert after the Paris terror attacks on November 13, in which 130 people were killed at sites including the Bataclan Theatre and Stade de France.

The state of emergency initiated after those attacks, which has now been extended, was due to be lifted later this month.

Lawyer Harjit Sarang and her children were among those caught up in the terror.

The Londoner tweeted: "Running through crowds in Nice with kids and terrified. Never taking kids to a public event again. Finally back to hotel. Hate this!"

She said it was the " scariest thing ever running through crowds with boys. Got back to hotel and couldn't get in for people seeking refuge!

"Can't stop shaking. Hate that my boys had to experience this."

Briton Will Shore was in a nearby bar when he heard gunfire and said his initial reaction was to run towards the city centre to see what was happening.

He told the BBC: "I kind of ran towards the centre of Nice where there was a rather large jazz festival, and something was going on. I immediately found that military and the local police were just ushering absolutely everybody out of the area.

"It was quite chaotic really. There was a lot of people screaming, running around and people were kind of being pushed over, I think, from people just being so frightened about what was going on, especially after hearing the gunshots.

"I had to help a couple of people up who were in distress on the floor because everyone was in such a panic."

He added: "You could genuinely see the fear and panic in people's faces when they were running away. It was a mass amount of people running away. "

Kevin Harris watched the attack unfold from his balcony.

He told the BBC: "I saw what appeared to be bodies in the lying in the road.

"I spoke to my neighbour, who said the lorry had ploughed through the people. It's a terrible scene."

Celia Delcourt, 20, from Nice, was enjoying the Bastille Day celebrations with friends when the attack happened.

"When the fireworks ended, we went on to the Promenade des Anglais and we started walking and we heard gunshots and we started running from on the other side," she told ITV's Good Morning Britain programme.

"It was dark. We didn't know what was happening. We thought it was fireworks from another place. We just started running because everybody was running, without knowing what was happening.

"We never thought it will happen in our city, it's crazy. It feels like it's a part of our day since it happened in Paris but we never thought it would happen here."

Ms Delcourt added: "Everybody is shocked we have never been in a situation like this so it is unbelievable. It's shocking."

Witness Lucy Nesbitt-Comaskey told Sky News: "I said to my friend 'This doesn't sound like fireworks, it sounds like Beirut when it's under fire'.

"All of a sudden people were screaming in the streets and running into all the restaurants.

"All the restaurants were open and people were coming.

"We were just sitting there and everyone came into our restaurant and the owners were saying 'Please don't go anywhere, come in, come in'."

Richard Gutjahr, a journalist for German TV channel ARD, saw the lorry approaching the crowd in a street that had been cleared of traffic.

He told the BBC: "All of a sudden, with all the people, all the families celebrating, this truck was approaching and it was approaching very slowly so it didn't really rush but you could ask yourself 'What is a truck doing in the heart of this?'"

He said a motorcyclist tried to stop the lorry before being run over and then two police officers fired shots at the driver.

"From that moment on the rampage took place. The vehicle accelerated and ran in a very odd way right in the middle of the crowd," he said.

"The panic really kicked in when the gunshots were shot and it went on for 15-20 seconds of gunfire from several guns. That was the moment when everyone understood that it was not just an ordinary accident."

Many families with children had gone to the seafront to watch the Bastille Day fireworks and in the aftermath adults were seen trying to comfort and calm terrified youngsters.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are deeply concerned about reports of an incident in Nice and are in touch with the local authorities to seek more information.

"Our thoughts are with those affected and we stand by to help any British nationals."

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister is being kept updated on reports coming in from Nice.

"We are shocked and concerned by the scenes there. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this terrible incident on what was a day of national celebration.

"The FCO are in touch with the local authorities to seek more information and we stand ready to help any British nationals and to support our French partners."

New Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted that he was "shocked and saddened by the appalling events in Nice, and the terrible loss of life".

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced he will be "reviewing our own safety measures" following the attack in Nice.

He declared that the capital would "stand united" with France and insisted the "poisonous and twisted" terrorists would be defeated.

Speaking on a visit to Gatwick Airport, Mr Khan said: "I will reassure all Londoners that today we will be reviewing our own safety measures in light of this attack and that I and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner will do everything possible to keep Londoners safe."

A Rihanna concert scheduled for Friday night at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice has been cancelled, as have the city's jazz festival, which was due to run from Saturday to Wednesday, and some of the Bastille celebrations over the weekend.