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Who were the victims of the Nice truck rampage?

The Local Italy
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Who were the victims of the Nice truck rampage?
Photo: AFP

In all 84 people are known to have died in the latest horrific terror attack in France. Details of the victims, who included around a dozen children and many Muslims, are beginning to emerge

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As well as the 84 dead, around a hundred more were injured in the incident, with 18 of those in intensive care. Hollande spoke of "around fifty people who are between life and death" when he gave a statement at midday.

French President Francois Hollande said Friday that "many foreigners and young children" were among those killed or injured after the truck attack on a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, with around 50 fighting for their lives.

"There are French among the victims and also many foreigners from every continent and many children, young children," said a clearly moved Hollande in a speech from a hospital in the French Riviera city.

One eyewitness told the BBC that she had seen the truck "deliberately aiming for children", and driving towards a children's carousel.

The 'first victim': A Muslim mother

Fatima Charrihi has been named as one of the victims. Her son, named as Hamza, told L'Express: "She was the first victim. My brother tried to resuscitate her, but doctors told us she died on the spot."

Hamza described Charrihi as "extraordinary", adding that she wore the veil and practiced "a true Islam - not the 'Islam' of the terrorists". She had been at the seafront celebrations with her nephews and nieces.

On Friday an eyewitness suspected many Muslims had been killed because of the headscarves she saw covering the bodies.

French policeman

The deputy director of Police and Border (PAF) Nice was killed, according to reports by Metronews which were confirmed by Christian Estrosi. The officer was 48 years old and was attending the fireworks with his family; he has not yet been named.

Le Parisien newspaper reported that four members of one family from eastern France had been killed in the attack: Francois and Christiane Locatelli, aged 82 and 78, who were on holiday in Nice, their daughter Veronique Lion and their grandson Michael Pellegrini.

Foreign nationals

The attack came during the holiday season, so it is likely that the victims will be of several different nationalities.

Two Americans were killed in the attack, including 52-year-old Sean Copeland and his son Brodie, 10, from Texas, according to Buzzfeed News. Relatives told the news site that along with Sean's wife and other two children, they were on a family holiday in Nice.

Family friends and Brodie's baseball team paid tribute on Facebook, remembering Brodie as a talented baseball player and the Copelands were described as a "wonderful family".

"At this time, we are aware of and can confirm two US citizens were killed in the attack in Nice on July 14, 2016," spokesman John Kirby said in a statement as US top envoy John Kerry was in Moscow for talks on Syria with his Russian counterpart. "We express our sincere condolences to the family and
friends of those killed."

A teacher and two students from Berlin were among the victims, Berlin authorities confirmed. The students, from Paula-Fürst-Gemeinschaftsschule in Charlottenburg, were were on a trip to celebrate the end of their final year exams. According to Berlin tabloid BZ, a further student from the school trip has been taken to hospital and another suffered light injuries.

The German Foreign Ministry said on Friday morning that they could not rule out that more Germans were among the victims; several other schools were taking school trips to Nice.

A 20-year-old Russian citizen, Victoria Savchenko, died in the attack, according to Russian TV station NTV. The death of the Russian student was confirmed by Moscow's mayor and the Russian Financial University, while a friend and fellow student of Savchenko was reportedly injured.

One Ukrainian citizen was killed and another injured, the country's Foreign Minister said. Again, no personal details of the victims have yet been released.

One Swiss woman was confirmed among the victims. The Swiss foreign office said she was an 84-year-old, but did not give her name; they are working with French authorities to establish if any more Swiss citizens were involved.

'Many Italians' visiting  or resident in Nice, which is close to the Italian border, are said to be unaccounted for, with family members using social media to search for them. The Foreign Ministry said they "could not rule out" the possibility of Italians being caught up in the attack, and the Ligurian region has offered the use of its hospitals to treat victims.

"Several" UK nationals were injured, Downing Street confirmed early on Friday afternoon. Britain's new Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had previously said he had information that one UK citizen had been hurt.

Anyone affected by the attack should call the number below.

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