This Saturday, at the end of the day, a collision between two pleasure boats, one of which was carrying divers off the coast of Marseille, left thirteen people injured, the Mediterranean maritime prefecture and a police source told AFP.
On one of the speedboats were seven people and on the second, a wooden diving boat also about ten meters, fourteen, said these two sources, confirming initial information from the daily Provence.
4 people in absolute emergency
Thirteen people were injured in this accident which occurred 900 meters from the coast at Cap Croisette, south of Marseille. Four of them, considered an absolute emergency, had to be airlifted to shore and then hospitalized at the Timone hospital center.
According to the first elements of the investigation, the first pleasure boat which was carrying tourists “lost control” then hit the other, a police source explained to AFP. The boat at the origin of the collision initially moved away before returning to the place of the shock, she added. Its skipper was then arrested before being placed in police custody, according to the same source.
“Collision between two worlds”
“A boat passing at high speed tore off the cabin and carried away the pilot of this boat on which there were divers who were taking samples to identify species in the Mediterranean Sea,” Hervé Menchon, the elected official, explained to AFP. of the city of Marseille in charge of marine biodiversity who participated in the species census operation but remained at the dock.
“More than between two boats, it is the collision between two worlds: on the one hand a group of divers who ensure the maintenance of marine life and aware of current issues, on the other the noise, the fury and a recreational use, carefree and dangerous for biodiversity,” added the elected official.
The rescue operations, during which around sixty firefighters were engaged, were coordinated by the CROSS Méditerranée and the investigation into responsibilities is now managed by the maritime gendarmerie.