Salford City Council is flying the Union Jack at half-mast over Swinton today in memory of the victims of Thursday’s attack in Nice.
At least 84 people are dead, 10 of them children, after a 31-year-old French/Tunisian national ploughed a truck at high speed into a group of revellers celebrating Bastille Day in the south of the France.
Bullet holes riddled the windscreen as desperate crowds tried to escape the truck careering through the streets.
Witnesses reported how the lorry swerved toward victims in an attempt to maim and kill more people.
The truck was loaded up with guns and grenades, but the weapons were later reportedly revealed as fakes.
The driver continued to run over people through the crowd for over a mile on the Promenade des Anglais, at around 11pm local time, before he was shot dead by police.
The death toll rose from initial reports of 73 to 84 overnight as victims succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
French President François Hollande said the attack was “clearly of a terrorist nature”.
It is being investigated by France’s anti-terror unit and a state of emergency put in place after November terror attacks in Paris will be extended by another three months.
The horror of the attack is still being realised.
Tourists and local Nice residents are among the dead, including two Americans, a Russian and a Swiss woman.
Salford City Council last made the memorial gesture for the Brussels bombing attacks, and to recognise the anniversary of the death of Alan Henning.
Jim Taylor, City Director at Salford City Council, said: “We are flying the flag at half mast in a message of solidarity with the families and friends of people who have been killed or injured in this senseless attack.
“They were innocent people who just wanted to celebrate Bastille Day.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this time.”
SalfordOnline.com has changed its website logo for Friday 15 July as a mark of respect to those injured or killed in the attack in Nice.
