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Rough seas - and a warning sign just ahead: The coast in northern France
Photo: SAMEER AL-DOUMY / AFP
After storms on the French Atlantic coast, sea rescuers have been on duty there since Saturday evening to help damaged boats and crews.
The maritime prefecture in Brest announced on Sunday that forces with ships, helicopters and planes, as well as support for the army and civil defense, have deployed more than 80 times.
Fortunately, there have been no fatalities so far.
Two men on a motorboat who were unable to give their position had to remain on the water overnight before they were located and rescued.
The prefecture called on water sports enthusiasts and leisure captains to stay on land.
A heat wave with temperatures of up to 43 degrees was followed by a change in the weather in western France, with severe local storms.
Many rescue missions, one dead kite surfer
On the Normandy coast further north, the sea rescuers went on 29 missions to rush to the aid of people on boats or jet skis.
On Saturday evening, a kitesurfer died in the region and another was rescued, the maritime prefecture in Cherbourg said.
During an extremely violent storm, the 31-year-old kitesurfer was thrown through the air against the facade of a restaurant in Villers-sur-Mer by a strong gust of wind from the sea.
Helpers could only determine the death of the man.
As the broadcaster France Info reported, the storm also threw tables and chairs from cafes through the air and injured three visitors to a casino.
In nearby Deauville, rescuers searched by boat and helicopter for a missing person at sea, who was eventually found unharmed on land, the prefecture said.
A large triathlon organized in the seaside resort was canceled because the athletes' village tents were blown away.
The participants were offered quarters in the village.
dop/dpa
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