A Ukrainian woman has recounted how she was caught up in the July 14 terror attack in Nice, in which 84 people were killed and more than 100 injured.
Ryna Noir, Ukrainian fashion photographer, had traveled to the French Riviera city of Nice on July 12 to attend a concert by U.S.pop-singer Rihanna scheduled for July 15.
As locals and tourists in Nice celebrated Bastille Day, France’s National Day,
on July 14, Noir was sharing on Instagram pictures of a parade of young French
women in men in vintage costumes.
Then the attacker struck.
“The sea was surprisingly calm that day in Nice,” Noir told
the Kyiv Post.“I took pictures with three French firefighters, two girls and a
guy. I caught their light and happy spirit. The parade started after six p.m. I didn’t
know about all the entertainment events planned in the city. So I decided to
return to the beach at night to see the firework display.”
Ryna Noir, a Ukrainian fashion photographer(Right) poses for a photo with French female firefighter in Nice on July 14. “This is how I want to remember that day like,” she wrote under this photo published on July 15.
At 11 p.m a 25-ton truck drove at high speed into the crowd
on Nice’s beach front street, the Promenade des Anglais, killing 84 civilians and
injuring more than 100 — 54 of whom were children. Ukrainian Foreign Minister
Pavlo Klimkin wrote on his Twitter later that one Ukrainian had been killed and
two injured in the horrifying attack.
French news agency AFP reported that a 31-year-old French
man of Tunisian origin, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, drove for nearly two
kilometers, smashing into and crushing pedestrians,until he stopped and started
shooting into the crowd. He was then shot dead by police.
Noir was only a few dozen meters away of the path of the
truck, enjoying a late night walk by the sea, listening to music, and wearing
headphones.
After the firework display, the crowd started leaving the
Promenade des Anglais. There were many people around, according to Noir,
walking along the beach and the road. There were few cars as it was late.
“All the bars were full,” Noir said.“People were walking
with their families,there were so many kids around. I decided to walk to the port. And then I saw
police cars and ambulances rushing to the place where I’d just come from.”
After that a large group of young men ran from behind her. At first Noirthey were rushing to yet another
event marking the national holiday.
But then she saw more people running past her, their faces
terrified.
“I took off my headphones and turned around to see what was
happening. One after another, police cars and ambulances were rushing to the
beach, lights flashing,” said Noir.
And then she saw a family – a man and woman with four or
five little children – rushing in fear from the beach.
Suddenly the father – a very large man- stopped and dropped
to the ground.
“I guess he was taken ill after all that running and
stress,” Noir said.“When he fell, his children started crying and
panicking. People gathered around them.
And then some guy swept the dad up and carried him away. His wife and children
were running ahead.”
After that there was real chaos, like a scene from a disaster
movie, Noir said. The crowds were running in different directions, dropping
their bags but not even stopping to pick them up or go back for them.
“Endless sirens were howling all around,” Noir said.“Terrified
kids were crying. I didn’t understand
what was happening. The third person I
stopped was able to explain the situation, saying ‘Terrorists…A truck…attacked
the crowd.’ And then he ran away.”
Two other men, on a motorcycle, also shouted “terrorists,
bomb, beach,” as they rode past.
Noir rushed to her hotel, which was located near the seafront. She met no police on her way, only more
scared people. There were fewer people on the side streets, but large numbers
of people were heading to the city center on the wider streets and avenues.
The first thing she did when she got to her room was to
search the web for news, but the clear reports started to come only after 50
minutes.
“My friends called me from Cannes.
They were heading to Nice but had to return because all the roads were
blocked,” Noir said.
The next day the Rihanna concert was canceled. The city was quiet, some of the cafes and
bars, previously filled with happy people, were closed. Others were showing the
latest news on their TV-screens.
Noir walked to the scene of the attack.
“Everything has been cleaned up there. The area has been blocked
by the police. Only the big white truck remains at the scene,” Noir told the
Kyiv Post.
The tragedy in Nice is the third mass-casualty terrorist
attack in France in just over a year.
In January 2015 terrorists attacked the newsroom of the
famous satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, killing 12 people, including
magazine editors and cartoonists. Four more people were killed in a subsequent
attack on a Jewish supermarket, and a police officer was also shot dead.
In November 2015 there was a coordinated series of terrorist
attacks in Paris, in which 130 people were killed and more than 300 injured. Gunmen
massacred civilians in a concert hall, restaurants and bars, and suicide bombers
attacked the national soccer stadium and other sites in the French capital.
Kyiv Post staff writer
can be reached at [email protected]
