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Truck plows into crowd at Bastille Day, dozens reportedly dead

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<p>People run in Nice, France after an incident at a Bastille Day celebration </p>

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A truck plowed into a group of pedestrians in Nice, France, Thursday night as people celebrated Bastille Day, authorities and witnesses said.

The former mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, said on Twitter there appeared to be dozens of deaths. Police on Twitter told residents to stay calm and not leave their homes.

"White truck literally racing through crowds of all ages. People either caught in path or forced to jump onto rocks over beach barrier," witness Andrew Botros, an Edinburgh man who owns a holiday apartment in Nice, told NBC News in a Twitter message. "Some dead. Horrific," Botros said.

The local Nice-Matin newspaper reported that a truck ran into a crowd watching a fireworks display.

Photos and video on social media appeared to show crowds running from the scene, and several people injured on the ground.

French President Francois Hollande and the country's interior minister were holding a crisis meeting over the situation. U.S. President Barack Obama has been briefed on the situation, National Security Council spokesperson said.

Police told NBC they were aware of an incident but were still investigating. Some media reported the sounds of gunfire, but it has not been confirmed that shots were fired.

Eric Dratell, an American lawyer working in London, is in Nice on vacation with his wife. They were having dinner at Le Sporting on the beach when his wife heard what she thought was gunfire.

"We started running for cover. People started jumping from promenade level onto the beach," Dratell told NBC News. "A guy jumped on my wife," who was injured, he said.

"We took shelter with 200 or more people in an area under the promenade. People were in crowded toilet stalls," Dratell said. "This is shocking," he said.

Following the incident, Nice's former Mayor Christian Estrosi tweeted in French, "Dear Nicois, the driver of a truck appears to have made dozens of deaths. Stay for the moment to your home. More info to come."

France has been on edge since a series of coordinated terror attacks in Paris in November that left 130 people dead. The terror group ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack.

It is not clear why the truck struck the crowd Thursday.

Malcolm Nance, executive director of the Terror Asymmetrics Project, a nonprofit research institute, told NBC News that while it couldn't immediately be determined for certain, the incident bore all the hallmarks of a "major terror attack."

Vehicular traffic is barred from the promenade on holidays, meaning the driver of the truck would have had to negotiate several roadblocks to reach the area, said Nance, a former veteran federal counterterrorism officer.

France's ambassador to the U.S., Gérard Araud, said on Twitter: "Again. Sadness. These people only wanted to enjoy Bastille day fireworks with their family and friends. Sadness."

Bastille Day, also known as National Day, commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison during the French revolution in 1789.

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