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Florence
Arthaud, Camille Muffat, and Alexis Vastine (Photos: tours-madame.fr; tuxboard.com;
blogs.lexpress.fr)
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Three French sports stars -- Olympic swimmer Camille
Muffat, yachtswoman Florence Arthaud and boxer Alexis Vastine -- were among 10
people killed when two helicopters collided in Argentina on Monday during the
filming of a reality TV show.
Authorities said it was still unclear what caused the
accident in the rugged western province of La Rioja near the Andes mountains.
Reuters reports:
"The sudden death of our fellow French nationals
is a cause of immense sadness," a statement from French President Francois
Hollande's office in Paris said.
It added that several members of the ALP TV Production
Company involved in shooting the adventure show "Dropped" for private
TV station TF1 were among the dead. In total, eight French nationals were
killed, said authorities.
"The whole of French sport is in mourning because
we have lost three huge champions," Sports Minister Thierry Braillard told
RTL radio.
"Florence Arthaud - we all knew her as the
'Fiancee of the Atlantic'," he added, using Arthaud's nickname.
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Ten people, including eight cast of a French
reality TV show and two Argentine pilots, have died
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TF1 issued a statement expressing sadness and
solidarity for the families of the victims. French media said filming had been
suspended and the crew and other contestants were heading back to France.
"Dropped" involves contestants being left in
the wilderness and using their skills to find their way back to civilization.
It was the second time in two years that a reality
show produced by ALP for TF1 was hit by tragedy.
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 world of sailing and in 1990 secured the record for
the fastest solitary crossing of the North Atlantic, according to her
publisher's website.
Muffat, 25, won 400 metres 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," Tweeted Sylvain Wiltord, ex-footballer
for English Premier League club Arsenal and fellow cast member.
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.
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