1/7 Police officers stand near a van, with its windscreen riddled with bullets, that ploughed into a crowd leaving a fireworks display in the French Riviera town of Nice on July 14, 2016.

Valery Hache/AFP

2/7 A picture taken on 15 July, 2016 shows the dead body of a person on the ground after a van drove into a crowd watching a fireworks display in the French Riviera town of Nice.

Valery Hache/AFP

3/7 A picture taken on 14 July, 2016 shows an helicopter flying near the site of an attack in the French Riviera town of Nice, after a van that ploughed into a crowd leaving a fireworks display.

Valery Hache/AFP

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4/7 Soldiers, police officers and firefighters walk near dead bodies covered with a blue sheets on the Promenade des Anglais seafront in the French Riviera town of Nice on 15 July, 2016, after a van drove into a crowd watching a fireworks display.

Valery Hache/AFP

5/7 Police officers carry out checks on vehicles in the centre of French Riviera town of Nice, after a van drove into a crowd watching a fireworks display on 14 July, 2016.

Valery Hache/AFP

6/7 A man walks with his hands up as police officers carry out checks on people in the centre of French Riviera town of Nice, after a van that ploughed into a crowd leaving a fireworks display on 14 July, 2016.

Valery Hache/AFP

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7/7 Police officers stand near a van, with its windscreen riddled with bullets, that ploughed into a crowd leaving a fireworks display in the French Riviera town of Nice on 14 July, 2016.

Valery Hache/AFP

See how Bastille Day celebrations were rammed to a stop in Nice

Catch Team @CatchNews | Updated on: 15 July 2016, 11:55 IST

QUICK PILL

Bastille Day, France\'s national holiday, was a bloody Thursday in the southern city of Nice. At least 84 people were dead and dozens injured, 18 of them critically.

A large, white lorry truck, full of weapons, barreled into an enormous crowd of spectators for more about 2km at a speed of about 50 km/h. Tourists had gathered on the Promenade des Anglais to watch the fireworks.

French President Francois Hollande labeled the attack terrorism: "France has been struck on the day of her national holiday ... Bastille Day, the symbol of liberty," President Francois Hollande said in a televised address at 3 in the morning.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The Paris prosecutor's office opened an investigation for "murder, attempted murder in an organised group linked to a terrorist enterprise".

French news outlets reported an ID belonging to a 31-year-old resident of Nice was found in the truck. The person had dual French-Tunisian nationality. He shouted "Allahu Akbar" before attacking the crowd.

Several eyewitnesses said that the driver had been 'zigzagging' in an attempt to injure as many people while also firing a gun into the crowd through the window. The driver was shot dead. Several guns and grenades were found inside the lorry. The State of Emergency in the country, due to expire on 26 July, has now been extended by three months.

Vocative has reported that some ISIS supporters have been celebrating the Nice attack. "Oh France, you and the all Europe will never be secure until we will live secure on every inch in the land of the Caliphate," wrote one ISIS supporter whose Twitter account has since been suspended. "This is the beginning of the attack to take the holy revenge for the killing of Abu Omar Shishani, may Allah accept him," a jihadi posted on the ISIS al-Minbar forum shortly after the attack.

Facebook has turned on the safety check feature. Google has provided made phone calls free to France. All other events, including a five-day jazz concert and Rihanna concert have been cancelled.

And finally, here is Britain's new foreign secratary, on the Nice attack:

"Shocked and saddened by the appalling events in Nice, and the terrible loss of life."