A truck moving at high-speed drove into a crowd of people on the Promenade des Anglais along the coast in Nice at about 11 p.m. on July 14, as the fireworks display celebrating Bastille Day, a French national holiday, drew to a close. The truck continued along the pedestrian zone for 2 km, striking people on its way. The driver was subsequently shot dead by the police.
According to the French authorities, 84 people were killed and 50 were severely injured, including 18 in a critical condition.
The French leadership has condemned the attack as an act of terror.
A three-day period of mourning for the numerous victims has been declared in France.
Witnesses said that two Russian women – Viktoria (Alexandrovna) Savchenko (b. 1995) and Natalya Otto – could be among those killed. Another two Russian citizens are missing. Russians Polina (Andreyevna) Serebryannikova (b. 1995) and Galina (Vasilyevna) Sokolova (b. 1956) have been injured and are in hospitals in Monaco and Nice.
The Russian Consulate General in Marseille together with the authorities and relatives of the victims are continuing to verify the above information and to try to determine the fate of other Russian citizens who could have been affected by the tragedy in Nice.
