Two people died on Wednesday, November 16, following the capsizing of a follower boat at the arrival of the Route du Rhum, announced the public prosecutor of Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe).
According Guadeloupe the 1st11 people were on board the boat to accompany the winner of the event, the Frenchman Charles Caudrelier, on the last nautical mile (1.8 kilometres). The West Indies-Guyana Regional Operational Center for Surveillance and Rescue was dispatched to the scene. A building of the French Navy which was nearby was able to intervene quickly. “All of them were rescued. A person would have been trapped under the hull of the boat. Two people were in cardiopulmonary arrest., adds the overseas media. A judicial investigation has been opened for manslaughter, said the prosecution.
According to a journalist from Guadeloupe the 1stit seems that the pilot of the speedboat swerved to avoid another boat, just before the arrival, and that water rushed into the back of the boat, which would have caused it to capsize .
“It’s a tragedy”lamented Charles Caudrelier. “I am a little in shock, the atmosphere is spoiled”, he added on Franceinfo. The race organization meanwhile announced that the celebrations planned for the arrival of the sailors had been canceled for the day.