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Island students escape attack in Nice, France, unhurt

A group of Nanaimo high school students is safe and unharmed after being within metres of an attack at Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, France, that killed more than 80 people Thursday.
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Fire department ambulances and vehicles are parked near the scene of an attack after a truck drove on to the sidewalk and plowed through a crowd of revelers who'd gathered to watch the fireworks in the French resort city of Nice, southern France, Friday, July 15, 2016. A spokesman for France's Interior Ministry says there are likely to be "several dozen dead" after a truck drove into a crowd of revelers celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice. (AP Photo/Christian Alminana)

A group of Nanaimo high school students is safe and unharmed after being within metres of an attack at Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, France, that killed more than 80 people Thursday.

“Some were very close, within 100 metres,” said Dale Burgos, the communications director from Nanaimo School District 68. “Obviously, they’re all shaken but they are OK.”

Eighty-five students from four high schools and their chaperones are in Nice as part of a two-week homestay exchange in France and Spain.

Burgos said all the students were at the Bastille Day celebrations when a truck loaded with weapons and hand grenades drove onto a sidewalk for two kilometres, plowing through revellers who had gathered to watch fireworks.

The driver was killed, authorities said.

It was not immediately clear who would have been behind the attack, but France has recently seen a spate of terrorist attacks.

Burgos said the district and principals are working to help the students and chaperones decide what their next step will be.

“I’m sure their parents all want them home now,” he said. They are in contact with Canadian officials about the logistics of making that happen.

For now, he said parents can get information from the district’s social media sites.

Doug White, a councillor with the Snuneymuxw First Nation, posted to Facebook: “I can’t take the stress — my niece Isabella texted me to tell me she and her friend ran across Nice to get away from the horrible Bastille Day … She is ok and all the kids from Nanaimo that are over there are ok — thank god!”

On Twitter, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “Canadians are shocked by tonight’s attack in Nice. Our sympathy is with the victims, and our solidarity with the French people.”

spetrescu@timescolonist.com