13 June 2024 , 12:51
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A British man has died after a group of 11 kayakers got into trouble in a southeastern French river.
The man in his 50s was kayaking with the group when he flipped over near Briançont, a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region.
According to witnesses, the man fell unconscious and began drifting along the Durance near the Leclerc shopping centre on Tuesday afternoon.
The incident happened only 10 minutes after the group set out at around 3pm for a supervised excursion, Le Dauphiné Libéré reported.
Emergency services launched a search for three people half an hour later.
Two kayakers were pulled from the river unharmed but the man was found dead near Villaret village. Police ended the search at 6pm.
Sources told Le Dauphiné Libéré that the British man, who could not be resuscitated, was an experienced kayaker.
An Irishman drowned only the day before in another river (Picture: Shutterstock/EBASCOL)
Local prosecutor Marion Lozac’hmeur confirmed the man who died was ‘of English nationality’.
Authorities are investigating but point to a turbulent river current caused by melting snow as the likely cause.
The incident happened only a day after an Irish kayaker drowned on the Ubaye Valley river in the French Alps.
Despite attempts by friends and emergency services to resuscitate him, the 72-year-old died at the scene.