A terrible accident with fatal consequences occurred in Argentina on Monday during the filming of the French channel TF1's reality show "Dropped". According to initial reports, ten people lost their lives in a collision between two helicopters in the province of La Rioja. According to consistent reports, the helicopters collided in good weather near Villa Castelli. The accident occurred a good 1100 kilometres north-west of the Argentinian capital Buenes Aires. The helicopters are said to have collided and crashed shortly after take-off, bursting into flames.
Among the two Argentinian pilots and the eight passengers were three well-known French top athletes: deep-sea Amazon Florence Arthaud, 57, France's female figurehead for extreme sailing, the 25-year-old 400-metre freestyle Olympic champion Camille Muffat and the boxer Alexis Vastine, who had won the gold medal in the super-lightweight category in 2008, were killed in the accident. This was reported by the broadcaster itself and other French media. There was initially no detailed information from the local authorities on the circumstances and reasons for the accident.
Florence Arthaud won the famous transatlantic regatta "Route du Rhum" in 1990 with her 20 metre trimaran "Pierre 1er" and was regarded in her home country as the female incarnation of solo success at sea. The French respectfully called her "The little fiancée of the Atlantic" ("La petite fiancée de l'Atlantique"). She was one of the most famous sports personalities in her home country. Her father was the publisher Jacques Arthaud, who ran the Arthaud publishing house. Arthaud had already come second in the Two Star for monohulls in 1981. After her Route du Rhum victory in 1990, she was the first female sailor to be voted France's Sportswoman of the Year ("Champion de Champions").
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
