Three people were swept to their deaths by floodwaters in the south of France and three emergency workers were killed when their helicopter crashed while seeking to rescue victims, officials said Monday.
Twelve people have now been killed in the last 10 days in southeastern France, which has been battered by two successive late autumn storms bringing torrential rain, heavy flooding and high winds.
The EC145 helicopter lost radio and radar contact while on a rescue and reconnaissance flight in the Var region on Sunday night.
The pilot, a technician and a rescue specialist from the fire brigade were found dead at 1:30 am (00:30 GMT) near the town of Rove, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said in a statement.
Investigators are trying to determine the circumstances of the crash. Fog might have caused bad visibility at the time.
President Emmanuel Macron said in a message on Twitter that the whole country supported the rescuers' families and colleagues.
The crash came as Macron honoured 13 French soldiers who died when their helicopters collided in Mali last week in an operation against jihadists.
"While France is preparing today to pay tribute to 13 of its soldiers who died serving it (in Mali), our country is losing three everyday heroes who gave their lives to protect the French," Castaner said.
– Three killed in Var –
Three other people were killed on Sunday by the floods in the French Riviera region, which has been hit by torrential rains a week after extreme weather left six dead.
In the Var region, a shepherd was swept away as he was trying to cross a river in his jeep while tending to his flock.
His body was found in his vehicle late Sunday night about 300 metres (330 yards) downstream from where he was last seen, the prefecture said early Monday.
Elsewhere in the region, a stable owner was found dead two hours after he was also washed away while out watching over his animals, the prefecture said.
And the body of a woman who had been missing after her car was overwhelmed by the floodwaters was found by her brother close to the town of Manosque, a source close to the investigation said.
The Var and the neighbouring Alpes-Maritimes region had been on red alert for floods, which disrupted train services and cut the A8 motorway for four hours Sunday evening.
Many cultural and sporting events were also called off due to the bad weather, including Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue 1 match at Monaco.
Three French flood rescuers killed in helicopter crash
Marseille (AFP) Dec 2, 2019 –
Three emergency workers were killed in a helicopter crash near Marseille while on a rescue mission in southern France where floods left at least another three dead, officials said Monday.
Their EC145 helicopter lost radio and radar contact while on a rescue and reconnaissance flight in the Var region Sunday night.
The three swept away by floodwaters were found dead at 1:30 am near the town of Rove, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner and his secretary of state Laurent Nunez said in a statement.
An investigation was under way to determine the circumstances of the crash after the copter smashed into a hillside at Pennes-Mirabeau, a small hamlet to the north of Marseille.
"While France is preparing today to pay tribute to 13 of its soldiers who died serving it (in Mali), our country is losing three everyday heroes who gave their lives to protect the French," Castaner and Nunez said in a joint statement.
President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that even though Sunday's red alert for the area had since been lifted the atrocious weather "leaves behind it lands devastated and plunged into mourning by the flooding."
He added that his thoughts were with all those affected, "particularly with the families and loved ones of those of our fellow citizens who have lost their lives."
Three people were killed on Sunday by the floods in the French Riviera, which was lashed by fresh torrential rains a week after extreme weather left six dead in the Var region.
In the same region, a shepherd was swept away as he was trying to cross a ford in his 4×4 while tending to his flock. His body was found in his vehicle late Sunday 300 metres (yards) downstream from where he was last seen, the prefecture said early Monday.
"We urged him several times to come back, but off he went anyway," his partner told all-news broadcaster BFMTV.
Elsewhere in the same region, the owner of a stables was found dead two hours after he was also washed away while out watching over his animals, it said, while a woman was found dead in her car.
There were fears the death toll would rise with a 61-year-old woman listed as missing, also in the Var, after her car was found after the swollen waters of the River Garde receded to reveal a vehicle with its doors open but no sign of her.
– Spectacular landslide –
Monday afternoon saw a spectacular landslide at Mees, a small village in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department around 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Marseille.
Rocks destroyed several houses and injured two people, the local prefecture said, citing the "highly unfavourable weather conditions of these past few days" which it said had rendered some of the terrain above the village unstable.
The Var and the neighbouring Alpes-Maritimes region had been placed on weekend red alert for floods which disrupted train services and cut the A8 motorway for four hours Sunday evening.
Many cultural and sporting events were also called off because of the bad weather, including Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue 1 match at Monaco.
