French Sport Stars Die as Helicopters Collide in Argentina

World | March 10, 2015, Tuesday // 11:47
Bulgaria: French Sport Stars Die as Helicopters Collide in Argentina A file picture dated 29 July 2012 shows Camille Muffat of France celebrates winning the gold medal in the women`s 400m Freestyle Final during the Swimming competition held at the Aquatics Center during the London 2012 Olympic Games in London, Britain. Ten

Three French sport stars were among the ten victims of a mid-air helicopter collision in Argentina on Monday.

The victims were participating in the shooting of a reality TV show when two helicopters collided in the air, France 24 reports.

All ten people on board of the two helicopters - eight French passengers and their two Argentinian pilots, died in the accident.

The incident happened near the town of Villa Castelli in the La Rioja province in northwestern Argentina.

The crews were involved in the shooting of French survival series “Dropped”, which involved the dropping of eight sport stars in inhospitable environment.

The weather conditions were good and the cause of the crash remains unknown.

Among the ten victims were sailor Florence Arthaud, Olympic gold medalist Camille Muffat and Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine.

Arthaud was one of the best sailors in the world, who managed to make a name in what had been predominantly male sport.

Muffat, who won three medals at the 2012 London Olympics including gold in the 400-metre freestyle, was one of the best swimmers in French history.

Vastine won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the light welterweight category.

French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls expressed their condolences towards the relatives of the victims.

Hollande said that the incident brought an “immense sadness”, while Valls stated that “the whole of France is in mourning”.

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Tags: France, Argentina, sport, incident, accident, collision, helicopter, Dropped, reality, Villa Castelli, La Rioja, Florence Arthaud, Camille Muffat, Alexis Vastine, francois hollande, Manuel Valls

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