2024-03-10 10:30:00
Six people, including two children and a Belgian, are missing in Gard, swept away by floods while trying to cross bridges by car during the night from Saturday to Sunday, the prefecture said on Sunday morning. A seventh person has been missing in Ardèche since Saturday evening.
A family of four, including two children aged 4 and 13, was caught in the waves while trying to cross a submersible bridge over the Gardon in Dions, north of Nîmes, Frédéric Loiseau said during a press briefing, secretary general of the prefecture. The occupants of the vehicle were able to call for help following crossing the bridge, but their car was swept away and had not yet been found on Sunday morning, nor had the father and the two children. The mother was able to be found by rescuers and was taken to hospital, he said.
Motorists trapped
Shortly following 5:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, emergency services also received an emergency call from two motorists saying they were in difficulty, before losing contact. The car was reportedly occupied by two women, aged 47 and 50, who were traveling to Spain.
A Belgian missing since Saturday
Gard and six other departments were placed on orange alert on Saturday by Météo-France due to the episode of very heavy rainfall linked to storm Monica which swept a large quarter of the south-east of France. The orange level is third on a scale of four and calls on the public to be “very vigilant”because of “expected dangerous phenomena”. It is particularly recommended to avoid traveling or approaching watercourses.
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