Two people died on Wednesday morning after a follower boat capsized at the finish of the Route du Rhum, off Guadeloupe.
The accident at sea occurred moments after Charles Caudrelier crossed the finish line and won the twelfth edition of the single-handed sailing race. Here’s what we know so far about the accident.
A speedboat capsized
A few minutes before the finish, a VIP speedboat chartered by the organization of the race, with eleven people on board, turned around in the bay of Pointe-à-Pitre.
A person would have found himself trapped under the hull of the boat, according to the first information revealed by Guadeloupe the first .
According to the firefighters, the National Society for Rescue at Sea (SNSM) rescued the victims, who were taken care of by the firefighters once ashore. Two people, rescued in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest, could not be resuscitated.
The two deceased were members of the organization
Later in the day, the identity of the two deceased persons was revealed: they are two men from Morbihan and members of the company OC Sport Pen Duick which organizes the transatlantic sailing race, the organization said. in a press release.
Alex Picot, project manager at OC Sport, in charge of the Arkea Ultim Challenge and the Solitaire du Figaro, and François Naveilhan, sales and partnerships manager for OC Sport, were killed in the accident.
“All our thoughts go out to the families of our two employees and to all of our deeply wounded teams”said Hervé Favre, President of OC Sport Pen Duick, in a press release.
“The OC Sport Pen Duick teams, the main partners of the event – the Regional Council of Guadeloupe, the city of Saint-Malo and Saint-Malo Agglomeration, the Brittany Region, the CIC – and all the stakeholders of the organization join in the immense pain of the families and send them their deepest and sincere condolences.”continues the statement of the organization.
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An open judicial inquiry
The boat carried spectators who had come to watch the finish of the race. That of Charles Caudrelier took place at night, complicating the navigation conditions for the boats that came to celebrate the skippers.
“It’s a tragedy”reacted to France Info the winner Charles Caudrelier. “I am a little in shock, the atmosphere is spoiled”he added.
A judicial investigation has been opened for involuntary homicides, said the prosecution, stressing that “the precise assessment (was) pending”.
The accident, whose circumstances have not yet been specified, would have taken place one nautical mile from the coast, according to a close Source.
The race organization has also indicated that the celebrations planned for the arrival of the sailors have been canceled for the day. François Gabart is the second sailor to have crossed the line, around 3h30 after Charles Caudrelier.
