Kiwi narrowly avoids Nice truck attack

  • 15/07/2016
At least 77 have died in the attack (AAP)
At least 77 have died in the attack (AAP)

A New Zealander who was in Nice during the truck attack that killed at least 84 and injured hundreds more has spoken about the horror of the incident.

Sam West was part of a Contiki tour group that had been travelling around France, and was in a bar just 200 metres from the main road the truck drove down during its deadly rampage.

"Just before 11pm we were about to leave," Mr West told RadioLIVE.

"I looked outside and there was just this sea of people running towards me, and the shock on their faces was quite horrible."

Mr West said the venue then descended into panic, with people frantically running into the bar's kitchen and attempting to break out the back door, which was locked.

"Above us you could hear the fireworks going off and people thought they were gunshots, and they were screaming inside this kitchen, trying to get out," he said.

"We decided to make the decision to get out of the bar. We basically just ran out the front, across the beach and on to the main street, where it all happened. We managed to get ourselves back to the hotel, but on the way, the horror you could see on people's faces was quite incredible.

"As we were running out of this area, there were military police running back in with their guns."

Mr West said while he didn't see the actual incident unfold, the fear in the city was palpable.

"You could just sort of tell from the panic that something was going on that was definitely very nasty... I've never seen people react like that before."

He said that it appeared as though Nice had been put into lockdown, with police continually roaming the streets with their sirens blaring.

And Mr West says he remains fearful for his safety.

"The most terrifying about all this is you don't know who could be that next person."

Newshub.