NICE, FRANCE — At least 80 people died when a truck driver deliberately drove into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the southern French city of Nice yesterday.

The driver of a 25-ton truck drove at high speeds along the seaside Promenade des Anglais before ploughing into people, according to a local official cited by Reuters.

At least 42 people were in critical condition and scores more were wounded, the Daily Express reported, citing local newspaper Nice Matin.

Authorities are treating the attack as an act of terror.

Local officials said police shot and killed the truck driver. Guns and grenades were found inside the truck, according to a local official.

French television reported that the truck driver was a 31-year-old French Tunisian, believed to be a Nice resident.

Unconfirmed reports said a second attacker was shot dead by police after fleeing the vehicle on foot to a nearby restaurant, according to the Daily Express.

The truck driver died after an exchange of gunfire with police, according to another local official.

The attack, which comes on France’s national day, is the 10th terrorist atrocity to hit the country since January last year.