Six years after the death of a 50-year-old jogger in Hillion (Côtes-d’Armor), the case is back in court. On September 8, 2016, the victim was found dead on a mudflat in the Gouessant estuary. The man, who knew the area well, had gone there to pick up his dog. Immediately after the tragedy, associations had questioned the green algae, the place being considered dangerous and regularly covered with decomposing algae.
In April 2017, the parquet floor of Saint-Brieuc had however closed the case. “The medical causes of death are not clearly determined. It is not possible to establish a direct causal link between the death and the green algae”, then indicated the prosecutor at the time Bertrand Leclerc.
Victim’s family wants compensation
Since then, his widow and children have been fighting to obtain compensation and have the responsibility of the public authorities recognized in this death. Seized in 2019, the administrative court of Rennes will examine the case this Thursday morning. Members of the association Halte aux tides vertes will be present at the hearing alongside the victim’s family.
“Despite all the association alerts launched, in particular since the death in 2011 of 36 wild boars in the same place, until 2016 no measure was taken by the authorities to prohibit access to this dangerous zone where levels of hydrogen extremely high sulphide had however been noted under the supervision of a bailiff, ”indicates the association, which claims “that the denial on this affair finally cease”.