Facebook has activated its Safety Check feature in Nice, France, following a deadly incident that has claimed dozens of lives so far. Reports indicate that a truck drove through a crowd in the city during a celebration of Bastille Day.
Nice mayor Christian Estrosi tweeted that a truck struck dozens in a crowd, and he implored people to stay home.
Cher niçois, le chauffeur d'un camion semble avoir fait des dizaines de morts. Restez pour le moment à votre domicile. Plus d'infos à venir
— Christian Estrosi (@cestrosi) July 14, 2016
Launched in response to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Facebook’s Safety Check lets you notify loved ones that you’re unharmed if you’re in the vicinity of a major disaster or attack. It has been enabled not only for natural disasters like the ones in Nepal and Chile, but also for terrorist attacks, such as those in Paris, Orlando, and Ecuador.
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Investigators have not released information about what caused today’s event, but it comes on a national holiday in France that commemorates the French Revolution. A CNN affiliate has reported that the “occupants in the truck” exchanged fire with police following the collision with the crowd.
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the Safety Check activation with VentureBeat: “Following a community-generated Safety Check activation, we have activated Facebook-initiated Safety Check in response to an attack in Nice, France. We hope the people in the area find the tool a helpful way to let their friends and family know they are okay. Last month, we began testing features that allow people to both initiate and share Safety Check on Facebook. Over the last few months, we have improved the launch process to make it easier for our team to activate more frequently and faster, while testing ways to empower people to identify and elevate local crises as well.”
Head to the Facebook Safety Check page and, if you’re in the affected area, you can click on this link to let others know that you’re safe.
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