Adelaide couple Tim and Evie Timotheou caught up in Bastille Day tragedy in Nice, France
AN Adelaide couple have narrowly escaped with their lives in the Bastille Day attack in France which has left 84 people dead and more than one hundred injured.
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AN Adelaide couple have narrowly escaped with their lives in the Bastille Day attack in France which has left 84 people dead and more than 100 people injured.
Evie and Tim Timotheou, parents of Messenger journalist Stephanie Timotheou, arrived in Nice on the afternoon of the attack and booked into the Hotel West End Nice, on the Promenade des Anglais, just metres away from the where the tragedy unfolded.
“At the moment we are in lockdown, we’re in our hotel room,” Mrs Timotheou told The Advertiser.
Our hotel room is on the Promenade des Anglais where the incident occurred,” she said.
“We’re probably about 20 metres away and the whole promenade is now in lockdown.”
“We were on the promenade, the fireworks were going for about half an hour and as soon as the fireworks finished, we started walking back to our hotel room and literally there’s a big ‘bang’ — probably about 30 seconds later there were gunshots.”
“The (death and injury) toll seems to continue rising, so not good, not good, I actually feel sick. I’m that close I can actually see my hotel on the news,” Mrs Timotheou said.
The Timotheous left Australia two weeks ago for a European holiday, stopping in Cyprus for 10 days and Paris for two, before arriving in Nice.
They were set to leave Nice on Sunday but are now monitoring the situation in France.
“I actually feel sick, my stomach is in a knot and I’m shaking, we’ll see what tomorrow brings, we’re still here til Sunday but I think we’ll just wait and see what eventuates tomorrow,” Mrs Timotheou said.
SA Defence Industries Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith was in Paris when the attack occurred,
He earlier had attended the Bastille Day parade with Governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
The three men were at an official barbecue at the Australian Embassy waiting to watch fireworks above the Eiffel Tower with senior officers from Australian regiments which had marched in the parade when the news broke.
“I think everyone was pretty shocked to hear the news, a tragic end to an otherwise very successful day for the French,” Mr Hamilton-Smith said.
“It was a terrible tragedy that needed to be kept in perspective.”
Mr Hamilton-Smith, a former SAS soldier, said there had been a heightened awareness and “careful checking” in Paris following the attack.
“It was not the first time France has faced terrorism and this is going back many decades,” he said.
“The French are very resilient ... and security was very, very thorough.”
Mr Hamilton-Smith noticed increased security on the streets and the Paris underground rail system, the Metro.
“On the way home it was difficult to get on the Metro, streets were blocked off,” he said.
“All the crowd control, it was like New Year’s Eve at Sydney Harbor.
“It was sobering.”
Mr Hamilton-Smith commended the French authorities and security forces as cities went into lockdown after the attack.
“It’s just a reminder that there are individuals who would destroy our lifestyle and the peace and joy and they are just individuals and some of them will be dealt with,” he said.
Mr Hamilton-Smith encouraged Australians to continue to visit France in support of the European country.
“I want to encourage Australians and South Australians not to be deterred by these events and support France during this difficult time ... to keep coming here, to keep visiting,” he said.
In Adelaide the local French community woke up to the shocking news and gathered on Victoria Square on Friday night to grieve for those who were killed in the attack.
Honorary French Consul Sue Crafter condemned the individual behind the attack.
“I think people do think it’s an attack on freedom of speech, freedom of religious expression and the French lifestyle,” she said.
Lord Mayor of Adelaide Martin Haese said it was important for the community to unite during the time of tragedy.