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Three French sports personalities among dead in Argentina helicopter crash | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Three French sports personalities are among 10 people killed in a helicopter crash in Argentina, the French presidential office confirms. | |
Eight French nationals and their two Argentine pilots all died when two helicopters collided in La Rioja province in the country's north-west. | |
They crashed near Villa Castelli, about 1,170km (720 miles) from Buenos Aires, according to local officials. | |
The helicopters were involved in the filming of TV survival show Dropped. | |
Long-distance yachtswoman Florence Arthaud, Olympic swimmer Camille Muffat and Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine were confirmed dead by the office of French President Francois Hollande. | |
Camille Muffat won three medals in the pool at the London Olympics in 2012, while Alexis Vastine took a boxing bronze in Beijing in 2008. | |
The helicopters were filming Dropped, a popular celebrity show on the channel TF1. | |
The show flies celebrities into rough terrains by helicopter and films their attempts to find food and shelter. | |
One of the contestants, former France and Arsenal footballer Sylvain Wiltord, tweeted: "I'm sad for my friends, I'm trembling, I'm horrified, I have no words, I don't want to say anything." | One of the contestants, former France and Arsenal footballer Sylvain Wiltord, tweeted: "I'm sad for my friends, I'm trembling, I'm horrified, I have no words, I don't want to say anything." |
The cause of the crash is unclear. Officials have said the weather conditions in the mountainous area where it happened were good. | The cause of the crash is unclear. Officials have said the weather conditions in the mountainous area where it happened were good. |
"An explosion occurred and it's believed that they must have collided,'' said La Rioja Secretary of Security Cesar Angulo. | |
"Aeronautical experts will have to determine that," he added. | |
"We learn with great sadness about the accident during the filming of the Dropped show," said a statement issued by TF1. | |
"All TF1 teams come together in this terrible time with the pain of the families and relatives of the victims." |