The vehicle of a couple in their 70s was swept away by the waves on a submersible road at high tide, in Bricqueville-sur-mer, in the English Channel, on Sunday February 20. Its occupants were found drowned in the evening, firefighters announced on Monday.
The 74-year-old man and 70-year-old woman called the fire brigade shortly before 10 p.m. on Sunday evening when their vehicle had just been swept away on departmental road 375 “at high tide”, according to the same source. Thirty-two firefighters were dispatched to the scene to rescue them, including water rescuers and divers. An ambulance, all-terrain vehicles and the civil security helicopter also participated in the rescue.
But the night and the high tide made it difficult to locate the submerged vehicle, which was not located until around 11:15 p.m. by the helicopter. The two occupants were extracted from their car by the divers and then brought back to shore by the lifeboat. They were both declared dead by the doctor of the mobile emergency and resuscitation structure (SMUR).
Two days after the passage of Eunice, the north of France was confronted, on Sunday, with the storm Franklin, which caused significant material damage and still left some 12,000 homes without electricity.