- Three experienced kayakers were found dead on the night of Saturday to Sunday, after a sea trip in the Baie de Somme.
- A fourth, a teenager, was rescued in a state of hypothermia.
- The sea conditions became difficult as the walk progressed.
Initial reactions point to “misunderstanding”. On Saturday evening, three experienced kayakers died in the Baie de Somme. A fourth, a teenager, was rescued in a state of hypothermia, a rare accident in the region.
Like every week, a group of kayakers, members of the Saint-Valery-Sur-Somme club, participated in a sea trip in the afternoon of Saturday.
"Dislocated" by waves
Four of them "stayed on the water", while the others "landed a little before Cayeux-sur-Mer". On the ground, the kayakers lost sight of the other group, "and at that time, they started the rescue," says Guillaume Debeaurain, the club's vice-president, who expressed his "condolences to the families. ".
The 15-year-old boy, who was found around midnight in hypothermia at Le Crotoy, was hospitalized. Asked about the circumstances of the accident, he said that "one of the boats and all of the paddles had been lost". The remaining three kayaks were linked to make a raft, which was later "dislocated" by new waves, thereby isolating the participants from each other.
The maritime prefecture stressed that the sea conditions were "difficult", at 3 on the Douglas scale corresponding to a wave height of 0.5 to 1.25 meters. The water temperature was "8 degrees Celsius".
"At the start, there was no risk"
But "that was at the time of research. When the kayakers left, the conditions were very, very good, there was no risk, ”said Michel Souply, president of the SNSM station (National Society for Sea Rescue) in Crotoy.
"There is a misunderstanding, because these are sportsmen, seasoned kayakers, not just inexperienced tourists going out to see the seals, for which there can sometimes be some kind of fear," said AFP the mayor of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, Stéphane Haussoulier.
"There was certainly a gale around 5 p.m., but no particular climatic problem was noted, which could explain such a drama. Even if we know that when the bay empties, there are sometimes dangers, with strong currents ”.
Rare accident
According to the elected official, such accidents are quite rare in the bay, where kayaking is traditionally "a big sporting and tourist activity". "The only kayak death I know of dates back to 2001, when a young woman was trapped under a cable that protected the channel, but that was more than bad luck."
In the afternoon, Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu shared her “thoughts” on Twitter with “victims, their families and loved ones”.
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