The man, in his 50s, had been taking part in a group kayaking trip on the River Durance, near Briançon in south-eastern France, on Tuesday afternoon.
Kayaking in Weymouth, Dorset (Getty Images)
A British kayaker has died in an accident on a French river while two other thrill-seekers were rescued.
The victim, a man in his 50s, was in difficulty during a group kayaking trip on the River Durance in south-east France on Tuesday afternoon when their boat capsized.
A search and rescue operation was launched after police received a report of kayakers in distress on the river. According to The Sun, a police helicopter searched the riverside from the air to find the group.
Rescuers found three people in distress in the river, two of whom were trying to help the third, who was unconscious, while the two kayakers were pulled from the water without injury.
The third man, a British national, could not be revived despite desperate efforts by paramedics. He was an experienced kayaker but was thought to have been in trouble just 10 minutes into his boat.
According to local media outlet Dauphiné Libere, the men in the kayaks were on a tour. An investigation has now been launched into the incident. “We can confirm that a British man has died,” prosecutor Marion Rozac-Mere told Dauphiné Libere.
In May, another British kayaker went missing on a Swiss river, raising fears he may have died. Bren Orton, 29, went missing during a trip on the Melezza River in canton Ticino. Specialist search teams launched a major rescue operation to track him down after he went missing at around 2.45pm on May 16. The 29-year-old is believed to have become swept away by an underwater current.
Piranha, a company that designs high-performance kayaks, announced Bren's disappearance online, writing: “It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of Bren Orton. While kayaking with a group on the Merezza River in Switzerland, Bren became trapped by circular rocks and did not surface. Authorities and friends are working diligently to find him, but at this time we believe he is missing.”
A spokesman for Ticino cantonal police said: “Just before 2.45pm, a man in a kayak was reported missing on the river Melezza in the area of Palagnedra. The search is still ongoing and involves investigators from the cantonal police, assisted by the Ascona police and rescue teams from the Locarnese Valli emergency service.”
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