Gabriel Gonzalez/Associated Press
France is in mourning today. Reports are coming in from online news sites such as The BBC that ten people have died Monday as a result of two helicopters colliding in Argentina. Among those ten people were three of France’s most celebrated sports stars. Eight people in the crash were French nationals and the two pilots were from Argentina, as per The Telegraph.
The group of the ten individuals were in Argentina filming for a French reality show called Dropped which was to air on channel TF1. The show was meant to be an endurance-survival reality program based on a popular Swedish show. The helicopters were to drop the celebrities in a remote area while they were filmed using survival techniques to create a shelter, find food, and get back to civilization.
Former Arsenal winger Sylvain Wiltord was slated to be a cast member on the show. He tweeted out his feelings of sorrow after the crash:
Je suis triste pour mes amis , je tremble , je suis horrifié , je n'ai pas de mots , je ne veux rien dire #Tristesse #Pleurs #JesuisàParis
— Sylvain Wiltord (@sylwiltord) March 10, 2015
So far authorities are not sure what caused the tragic accident. The two helicopters were flying near La Rioja which is a western province near the Andes Mountains. Shortly after taking off, they collided in mid-air with each other. Reports are that there were no weather conditions that should have caused the crash. Witnesses rushed to help after the crash, however there were no survivors on either helicopter.
The three sport stars in the fatal crash were Camille Muffat, Florence Arthaud, and Alexis Vastine. Camille Muffat, 25-year-old, was a competitive swimmer in the Olympics who took home three medals in the 2012 London competition. Florence Arthaud, 57-years-old, who was known in her country as the Fiancee of the Atlantic, was an accomplished sailor. In 1990, she set the record for the fastest solitary crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. Alexis Vastine, 28-years-old, was an Olympic boxer who won the bronze medal for his sport at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The other five French nationals worked for Adventure Line Products, the company producing the show.
