The body of a man, killed by the fall of a large tree branch was discovered Sunday morning in Renaison, in the Loire, following violent gusts of wind, AFP learned from firefighters and the gendarmerie. It is a walker who alerted the relief Sunday shortly after 8 hours, seeing the lifeless body of the man of about 70 years, along a forest path.
The gendarmerie was still on Sunday late in the morning to try to determine the precise circumstances of the accident, apparently occurred the night before when strong gusts of wind caused falling trees in the north of the department, where firefighters carried out some 60 interventions. These tree falls had also interrupted train traffic on the Roanne-Saint-Etienne and Roanne-Lyon lines for several hours.
A "mini-tornado" took place, according to the mayor of the city
Jacques Thirouin, the mayor of Renaison present on the scene this morning, told France Bleu Saint-Etienne Loire that the victim would be a hiker about 70 years old from Roanne. The mayor also evokes a "mini-tornado" that would have occurred Saturday at the end of the day, causing these falls of trees. "All the trees here are cut to the same height, that's why I use the term mini-tornado," he detailed.