The Army announced on Sunday the death of Captain Mathieu Gayot of the 4th Special Forces Helicopter Regiment of Pau. The soldier died on Saturday evening, during an exercise as part of the operational preparation of his unit, in the Guynemer district of Uzein (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), after being struck by an army vehicle.
“The emergency services intervened very quickly and noted his death shortly after,” indicates the Ministry of the Armed Forces in a press release. An investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances of this tragedy. Just 30 years old and a “future father”, the young officer had been designated as coordinator of an exercise dedicated to the instruction of new arrivals.
Four external operations
Born in Thonon-les-Bains (Haute-Savoie), he was assigned to the 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment in Pau in 2018, and joined the 4th Special Forces Helicopter Regiment, still in Pau, in August 2019 He had been designated to command the 3rd special operations squadron, equipped with Caracal helicopters, and carried out “four external operations in the Sahel and Levantine theaters. »
Army General Pierre Schill, Chief of Staff of the Army, “shares the immense pain of his family. »