The body of a 62-year-old man was found on Sunday in Gard. A father and his two children were swept away by water on a bridge, and three other people disappeared.
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The bad weather which affected Gard and Ardèche left one dead and six missing on Sunday March 10. The body of a man, who had been swept away by the waters with his vehicle on Saturday, was found on Sunday in Gagnières, according to the Gard prefecture. Five people are still wanted in this same department, including a father and his two children. Another disappearance was also reported in neighboring Ardèche. The two departments had been placed on orange flood alert on Saturday evening, before violent bad weather hit the region.
“Very heavy rain affected these departments last night [de samedi à dimanche]leading to rising water levels and unfortunately missing people”, lamented Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. The Gard prefecture, for its part, evokes an event unprecedented in its scale since “10 years, in 2014”. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, for his part, said he was associated “to pain and worry” relatives of the victims, Sunday afternoon on X. “The Nation stands united with them.” Here’s what you need to know following these bad weather.
The body of a 62-year-old Belgian found in Gard
A first disappearance, that of a Belgian in his sixties, was reported on Saturday evening. His body was found on Sunday in Gagnières (Gard), according to information from France Bleu Gard-Lozère. According to the Gard prefecture, the body is that of the man who was trying to cross a submersible bridge which was closed on the La Ganière river. The department was then classified on orange alert for “floods”. His car was located Sunday morning.
A father and his two children taken away, the mother rescued
In Gard, a car was swept away on Saturday evening around 11:30 p.m. in Dions, with a family of four on board. The vehicle was then entering a submersible bridge on the RD22. The 40-year-old mother was rescued by firefighters and taken to hospital. Her husband and two children aged 4 and 13 are still wanted. A white car was found by emergency services downstream of the submersible point, reports France Bleu Gard-Lozère.
An advanced aid station has been installed. “It is complicated at the moment to know what the chances are of finding people quickly, even if the searches will accelerate”explains Frédéric Loiseau, secretary general of the prefecture. “Thirty-two firefighters were engaged, including 20 water rescuers, 21 vehicles, two drones, a dog team, and a gendarmerie helicopter”continues the secretary general of the prefecture.
Two women in their fifties still wanted
Two women aged 47 and 50 called for help at 5:10 a.m. Sunday, in difficulty in Goudargues, on a submersible bridge on the RD23. “Contact was lost during the call, which suggests that these people were quickly in difficulty”, depending on the prefecture. These two women, who were going to Spain, are still wanted. Their car has not been found either. “28 firefighters, a drone, a Bouches-du-Rhône civil security helicopter were engaged”adds Frédéric Loiseau.
In total, 250 firefighters were mobilized during the night from Saturday to Sunday, and four gendarmerie helicopters, summarizes France Bleu Gard-Lozère. Emergency services are awaiting reinforcements from neighboring departments and from Lyon. “We have to go back 10 years, to 2014, to find an event of this magnitude in the Gard department”says the secretary general of the prefecture.
An employee of a hydroelectric power station disappeared in Ardèche
The person missing in Ardèche since Saturday evening, also in connection with bad weather, is the manager of a hydroelectric plant who was working on a private power plant in the town of Saint-Martin-de-Valamas, Agence Radio France learned with the gendarmerie, confirming information from the AFP. The man is 70 years old. He arrived on site at 4:30 p.m. and his colleagues, without news of him, alerted the emergency services around 7 p.m.
His vehicle and wallet were found, France Bleu Drôme Ardèche learned from the gendarmerie. Searches were then initiated in the Eyrieux river, with the support of six divers, before stopping at 10:30 p.m. and resuming early this Sunday, reports France Bleu. Olivier Amrane, the president of the Ardèche Departmental Council, said this on Franceinfo on Sunday “pessimistic” on the chances of finding the man who disappeared Saturday evening.