Truck tore through the crowd ‘in clear act of murder’
NICE: A witness in the southern French city of Nice who saw the killer truck roll past a couple of metres away from her said it ripped right through the crowd at full speed, in what was clearly cold-blooded murder.
At least 84 people died late on Thursday when the heavy truck drove for more than 1.6km through a packed pedestrian zone in the French resort city. Thousands were crowded on the famous Promenade des Anglais to admire the Bastille Day fireworks.
Kira Kalinina, who was enjoying a family holiday in Nice, described the scenes of panic as the tragedy unfolded before her eyes.
“We pulled up the car at the traffic lights at the Boulevard Gambetta when we heard people scream and run. And right at that moment a huge truck raced over them 2m away from us. I think it was going at 100-120km/h, moving straight ahead like it meant to kill. It did not swerve,” Kalinina said, adding the vehicle left a trail of dead bodies in its wake.
Alina Shabanova, on holiday in Nice, said the promenade had been closed to traffic for the parade that had taken place earlier in the day.
“As it went dark and the parade was over, the road stayed closed for strolls. That means the truck had broken through the cordons. Only there were no cordons in place – just light metal barriers,” she said.
Shabanova and her husband were dining near a stage that had been set up in the middle of the promenade. She said the attack happened minutes after the fireworks ended.
“My husband had the road in sight. He saw the truck tear through the barriers and race on. It all happened in a split second. He yelled: ‘ A truck!’ Everyone was soon on their feet, and I saw a huge panicked mob coming at me.”
Police shouted at people, telling them to evacuate and run for cover. Shabanova said they had holed up inside the restaurants. People who had left their loved ones behind tried to get back into the street, but were held in place.
Rita Davletova, a tour guide in Nice, said she was with a French friend who works for security authorities in the Nice administration when the carnage began.
She was told to hide in a casino. The doors were locked behind her and other people taking refuge inside the venue, but they could spy on the hall through a crack in the doors.
“They were bringing the wounded in. There were lots of them. People did not know what was going on because phones were dead.”
“We were let out around 1am. There were bodies covered by blankets in the hall. More bodies were strewn along the road,” Davletova said.
Vagelis Antonakos and Amalia Kolovou are a newlywed couple from Greece who left the scene of the tragedy minutes before the attack.
“We were in the exact spot where the attack took place five minutes before it happened. It could have been us.
“We were waiting for a table in the restaurant when we saw people running panic-stricken along the street.”
They said diners started getting up and throwing over tables as they ran to basements and toilets.
“People were just running and screaming and panicking for about 30 or 40 minutes.”
The couple said they would not be returning to France any time soon.
“France will be a destination that I will have second thoughts (about) returning to.
“I mean, it’s not the first time something has happened, is it? France is a no-go for me from now on.” – Sputnik