|
 Authorities said it was still unclear what caused the accident in
the rugged western province of La Rioja near the Andes mountains.
French media citing Argentinian sources said the helicopters were
flying through clear skies at an altitude of about 100 meters when
they hit each other around 8 p.m. local time (2300 GMT).
Amateur footage showed dozens of people rushing through heavy
undergrowth toward the helicopters' burning wreckage.
"The sudden death of our fellow French nationals is a cause of
immense sadness," French President Francois Hollande's office said
in a statement.
Two pilots and several members of the ALP TV production company
involved in filming the adventure show "Dropped" for private TV
station TF1 were among the dead, officials said.
As part of the show other contestants were standing blindfolded on
the ground a few hundred meters from the helicopters' flight path,
French media reported. They ran to the crash site but could not
extinguish the fire, a contestant's assistant told French
broadcaster RFI.
"The whole of French sport is in mourning because we have lost three
huge champions," Thierry Braillard, junior minister for sports, town
and youth affairs, told RTL radio.
"Florence Arthaud - we all knew her as the 'Fiancee of the
Atlantic'," he said, referring to a nickname she earned through her
many daring voyages including a 1990 record for the fastest solitary
crossing of that body of water.
TF1 issued a statement expressing solidarity for the victims'
families. French media said filming had been suspended and the crew
and other contestants were heading back to France.
"We have no details on the exact circumstances at the moment," TF1
chief executive Nonce Paolini said. "All I can say at the moment is
that we are in a state of complete shock."
"Dropped" involves contestants being left in the wilderness and
using their skills to find their way back to civilization.
The collision was the second time in two years that a reality show
produced by ALP for TF1 had been hit by tragedy.
[to top of second column] |
In April 2013 the doctor charged with looking after the contestants
in the long-running Koh-Lanta endurance show committed suicide after
one of the competitors died following one of the tests, complaining
of heart pains.
Arthaud, 57, was one of the first women to carve a place for herself
in the top levels of sailing.
She had a brush with death in 2011 when she fell off her boat into
the Mediterranean. Rescuers whisked her out after she called her
mother by mobile phone.
Muffat, 25, won 400 meters freestyle gold at the 2012 London
Olympics. Vastine, 28, won bronze at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
"I am sad for my friends, I’m shaking, I’m horrified, I can’t find
the words," Sylvain Wiltord, an ex-footballer for English Premier
League club Arsenal and fellow cast member tweeted.
The victims included the helicopters' two pilots, La Rioja's
security chief Cesar Angulo told reporters earlier.
"There were no survivors, according to the information we have,"
Angulo said.
Argentina's official news agency Telam said one of the helicopters
belonged to the provincial government and the other to organizers of
a survival competition that had been held for three years near the
village of Villa Castelli.
(Writing by Mark John; Additional reporting by Jean-Philippe Lefief
in Paris; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
