A group of Nanaimo students in Nice, France are safe and accounted for after a truck rammed through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day, killing dozens.
On Friday morning, School District 68 officials tweeted that the students and their chaperones have left #Nice, France for a day trip.
Update: The 85 students plus chaperones have left #Nice, France for a day trip. Have received support from the foreign crisis centre.
— School District 68 (@sd68bc) July 15, 2016
Students from high schools including Dover Bay, Wellington and John Barsby were at the Bastille Festival when the attack occurred, according to a mother whose daughter is friends with the students.
French and Spanish students from Grades 9 to 12 were reportedly on the organized trip, with some venturing out to the festival, the mother said.
School District 68 officials confirmed that a group of students and chaperones in Nice were safe in a tweet at around 5 p.m. on Thursday.
All @sd68bc students and chaperones in #Nice, #France are safe and accounted for. #breakingnews #Nanaimo
— School District 68 (@sd68bc) July 14, 2016
A public Facebook group dedicated to the trip also confirmed the students were okay.
"Some of our students were displaced after the incident and we will spend the next hours making sure we get everyone to their homes," one organizer wrote. "Wifi and cellular networks are heavily taxed so it may be difficult for you to reach them, but please know all students are safe. We will keep you updated with any changes to the itinerary.
A councillor from the Snuneymuxw First Nation in Nanaimo also confirmed the report on Facebook.
Doug White said that his niece texted him from Nice to “tell me she and her friend ran across Nice to get away from the horrible Bastille Day attack” to get back to the home they were staying at.
“She is ok and all the kids from Nanaimo that are over there are ok,” he wrote.
The truck plowed into a celebratory crowd at around 10:30 p.m. local time. At least 84 people are now confirmed dead.
Eyewitnesses said a man with a gun then emerged from the vehicle and began to open fire.
B.C.'s premier Christy Clark tweeted on Friday that she's relieved the students and chaperones from the mid-island are safe.
So relieved #Nanaimo students and chaperones are safe. Can’t imagine what they and their parents went through. #Nice https://t.co/Pghax7nb2Q
— Christy Clark (@christyclarkbc) July 15, 2016
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that Canadians were “shocked” by the attack and that “Our sympathy is with the victims, and our solidarity with the French people.”
Canadians are shocked by tonight's attack in Nice. Our sympathy is with the victims, and our solidarity with the French people.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) July 14, 2016