The production company of the "Dropped" reality show, ALP, was indicted in February on charges of "manslaughter".
On March 9, 2015, two helicopters crashed on the set of the show, killing ten people, including sailor Florence Arthaud, Olympic swimming champion Camille Muffat and Olympic medalist boxer Alexis Vastine.
The production company of the reality show "Dropped", ALP, was indicted in February for "manslaughter" after the death of ten people, including several French sports stars, in the crash of two helicopters in Argentina in 2015, AFP learned on Monday from sources familiar with the matter.
Florence Arthaud, Camille Muffat and Alexis Vastine among the victims
The drama occurred six years ago, on March 9, 2015, during the filming of "Dropped" which was to be broadcast on TF1.
It had notably cost the life of the sailor Florence Arthaud, the Olympic swimming champion Camille Muffat and the Olympic medalist boxer Alexis Vastine.
In the criminal investigation opened in France one month after the accident, the examining magistrates had first placed under the intermediate status of "assisted witness" the production manager Nicolas Roussel, as well as Adventure Line Productions (ALP) , the company that employed him, specializing in adventure game shows.
This statute made the civil parties fear that they would not be referred to the criminal court.
ALP remains "presumed innocent"
But in February 2019, Peter Högberg, a Swedish security officer during the filming, was indicted for "manslaughter".
The magistrates then indicted Nicolas Roussel on this count on October 7, 2020, paving the way for an implication of ALP.
Joined by AFP, ALP lawyers recall that the company "remains presumed innocent" and that "it is in no way an admission of guilt".
"The ALP teams remain deeply upset by the accident which cost the lives of their colleagues, pilots and some participants. They remain determined to demonstrate that all material and human resources have been put in place to ensure safety. ", declared Mes Pierre-Olivier Sur and Mathias Chichportich.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the production company is accused of having underestimated the budget allocated to air resources, of having had the pilots and helicopters ultimately involved in the crash selected on mainly financial criteria, detriment of personal safety.
Several compensation procedures are underway in France and the company has already been convicted several times for "inexcusable misconduct".
A criminal investigation is also opened in Argentina.