The eight victims were bicyclists and pedestrians who were enjoying a sunny afternoon in the city. Eleven more people were injured in the attack and their condition remains unknown.
Amongst the eight deceased five were from Argentina. They were all friends and had come to New York to celebrate their 30th anniversary of graduation from Polytechnic College in the city of Rosario in central Argentina.
The names of the first victims emerged as Argentina's foreign ministry said Hernan Diego Mendoza, Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damian Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernan Ferruchi had died.
One of the Argentinian victims Erlij, who was 48, was a businessman in the steel industry and helped pay for the group’s travel. Angelini and Ferruchi were both architects, according to La Nación.
A sixth Argentinian man, Martin Ludovico Marro, was taken to the Presbyterian hospital in Manhattan. All the men are reportedly aged between 48 or 49 years old.
Following the gruesome attack Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri tweeted his sadness over the death of innocent victims. “Profoundly moved by the tragic deaths this afternoon in NY. We place ourselves at the disposition of the families of the Argentinian victims,” Macri wrote.
Belgian Woman
An unnamed Belgian woman was also among the dead, the country's deputy prime minister said. She was from the town of Roeselare and was on a trip with her sister and mother, Belgium’s deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister Didier Reynders said.
On Twitter, Reynders said he was “deeply saddened” by the news of the death of a Belgian citizen.
— didier reynders (@dreynders) October 31, 2017
Two further victims are currently unidentified.
About 3:05 p.m. local time, a man drove a rented truck nearly a mile down a bike path in Manhattan. The truck drove as many as 20 blocks, reportedly hitting 20 people.
The attack was the deadliest act of terror in New York since the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
According to eyewitnesses at one point the truck turned back toward the road and hit a bus. The driver, Sayfullo Saipov an Uzbek national, left the vehicle and was shot by a police officer. The attacker was taken to a hospital and according to the latest reports is out of surgery at the hospital.
