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Ardèche – A Dutch tourist was killed and five other people were injured in a freak accident in the Loire Valley in Southern France.
The group had gone swimming in a small lake with a waterfall on the Loire River when a large chunk of rock broke off and crashed into the river below, killing a 46-year-old Dutch man and seriously injuring his eight-year-old daughter. She was brought to a hospital in Montpellier in critical condition.
Four other tourists, a Dutch woman and three Frenchmen were lightly injured in the rockfall.
The incident occurred in and around the river in Péreyres.
A police representative said that there have been no incidents with falling rocks in the last 30 years at the waterfall of Ray Pic. He added that there was nothing to indicate that the people were responsible for dislodging the rocks.
The area where the accident occurred has been temporarily closed off for investigation. The French police are considering using explosives to release any more potentially hazardous loose rock material.
The French authorities have not yet released the victim’s identities.
Radio Netherlands / Vanessa Andreae / Expatica