France’s national holiday turned violent after the truck driver reportedly ploughed his vehicle into a crowd of Bastille Day party-goers in the coastal city of Nice in what is seen as a terrorist attack.

Early reports suggest that many were killed and more have been injured in the incident, although the exact numbers are not yet known for certain.

Horrific images showed thousands of people fleeing from the scene of the crash and men and women lying by the side of the road close to the Promenade des Anglais.

Residents of the city on the French

A journalist with the Nice Matin newspaper said that there was “a lot of blood and without doubt many injured”.

France has been under a State of National Emergency since the attacks on Paris last November that claimed the lives of nearly 150 people.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the crash, although ISIL and Al Qaeda have been previously linked to terror attacks using vehicles. (Luke Barber -Euronews)