A truck has crashed into a crowd of revelers celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice – prompting fears of terrorism, Peter Allen reports.

Horrific images depicting men and women lying on the side of a road close to the Promenade des Anglais appeared on social media.

Videos and photographs also showed thousands fleeing in panic following reports of loud explosions.

Fireworks were filling the night sky as the drama unfolded, as the crowds enjoyed July 14th, which is always a Bank Holiday in France.

The country is still under a State of Emergency following last year’s attacks on Paris, when almost 150 people were murdered by Islamic State and Al-Qaeda operatives.

Both groups are well known for driving vehicles into innocent people, prompting fears that tonight’s incident could be linked to their activities.

Bastille Day, which celebrates the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris during the French Revolution of 1789, is the country’s biggest public holiday.