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Fire near Eiffel Tower not related to attack in Nice

Posted at 8:54 PM, Jul 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-14 22:30:16-04
It was shocking timing in France on Thursday, as a fire broke out near the Eiffel Tower in Paris as a deadly incident took place in the resort city of Nice.
 
 
Moments after a driver drove onto a sidewalk in Nice and plowed into a crowd of Bastille Day celebrators, killing 80 people, smoke was seen at the base of the famed Eiffel Tower (see video footage below).
 
According to the NY Daily News, local police said in a statement that the two incidents were not related and that the fire in Paris was accidental.
 
Caused after a truck carrying fireworks caught fire, the blaze next to the tower was a “technical incident,” the Paris Police Prefecture announced said on Twitter.
 
Meanwhile, officials and eyewitnesses described the incident in Nice as a deliberate attack.
 
According to AP, Christian Estrosi -- the president of the region of France that includes Nice -- the driver appeared to have "completely premeditated behavior” during the incident, and his truck was “loaded with arms, loaded with grenades."
 
The truck driver was subsequently killed by police.