'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
10 people, including three French athletes, lost their lives when two helicopters collided mid-air in La Rioja province on Monday night. The helicopters were involved in the filming of reality TV show “Dropped” at the time of the incident.
Eight of the 10 dead were French citizens. The other two victims were Argentines Juan Carlos Castillo and Roberto Abate, the co-pilots.
A brief about the athletes:
Florence Arthaud – One of the best sailors in the world, the 57-year old won the Route du Rhum in 1990.
Camille Muffat – The 25-year old won three medals including gold in the 400 m individual relay at the 2012 London Olympics.
Alexis Vastine – The 28-year old was a bronze medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the lightweight category.
The other stars participating in the show were swimmer Alain Bernard, cyclist Jeannie Longo, footballer Sylvain Wiltord, snowboarder Anne-Flore Marxer and figure skater Philippe Candeloro. All of them were unharmed.
The witnesses present at the venue told a radio station that the helicopters brushed in the air and immediately exploded. The officials are still investigating the cause of the crash.
