Bunbury man tells of narrow Nice escape

Minutes were all that separated Bunbury man Josh Snow and the terrorist-driven truck which ploughed through crowds of people in the French Riviera resort of Nice last week, killing at least 84 people.

Mr Snow, who is backpacking through Europe, spoke exclusively to theBunbury Herald and told how 10 minutes earlier he had been standing in the truck’s deadly path.

The 23-year-old was about 50m away when he started running for his life as the attack started.

“I didn’t know what was happening but when mobs of people start to move, you don’t just stand around,” he said.

“I thought it might have been a bomb and people were just running and screaming.

“I didn’t want to follow the mob too much because you see other attacks and I thought it may have been a trap.”

He said he ran to a nearby beach thinking vehicles would not be able to get there, before making his way back to his hostel along the dark and gloomy streets.

“That was probably the scariest bit, there were people running down the streets crying,” he said.

He said he texted his girlfriend from a dark alley to let her know he was OK.

Mr Snow, who is taking a break from his accounting and finance studies, said it had been a spur-of-the-moment decision to travel to Nice to meet up with a friend.

He said there was a “real unease” among the crowds of people moments before the attack.

He said as he walked towards the foreshore to watch the Bastille Day fireworks he had a feeling something was wrong.

“The whole time I was staying there I had a feeling,” Mr Snow said.

“When I was walking towards the foreshore there were army guys with AK47s – it was pretty high security.

“I mean I’m not used to people walking around with guns, so that’s probably why I felt at unease.

“Before it happened I was thinking about the Paris attacks and I wanted to stay away from the huge congestions of people, because something told me it would be safer.”

As he spoke to theBunbury Herald a day after the attack he said the mood in the city was sombre.

Mr Snow was due to leave Nice on Saturday and said the attack would not stop him from travelling.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, which has also left 84 victims still in hospital.