Five of eight killed in New York attack are Argentine

Buenos Aires, Nov 1 (IANS) Eight persons were killed and 12 injured after a truck ploughed into pedestrians in Lower Manhattan in New York on Tuesday. Five of these victims were Argentine nationals, a statement here said.

The five were celebrating their 30th graduation anniversary at the Argentine Polytechnic School of Rosario, Efe news reported.

The statement released by the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, identified the five as Hernan Diego Mendoza, Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damian Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernan Ferruchi.

In addition, Martin Ludovico Marro, an injured Argentine national, has also been admitted to the Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. He is safe, according to sources from the hospital.

"The compatriots, from the city of Rosario (east), were part of a group of friends celebrating the 30th anniversary of their graduation at the Polytechnic School of that city (Rosario) when the tragic event occurred," the statement said.

The Argentine government expressed "its sincere condolences" and added that the Consulate General in New York City continues working in "permanent contact" with the police authorities and the hospital where Marro was admitted, as well as with their relatives in Argentina.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri tweeted he felt "deeply moved by the terrorist attack".

The attack took place in the southwest of Manhattan, where a man ploughed with his hired pickup truck into pedestrians and people riding bicycles in a bike lane near the bank of the Hudson River.

The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, described the attack as a "particularly cowardly act of terrorism".

The assailant was identified, according to the media, as Sayfullo Saipov, an Uzbek immigrant residing in Florida.

The authorities confirmed that the 29-year-old attacker, who was shot in the abdomen, was taken to a hospital.