Le Figaro Nice
To discover
Follow all the news of the city of Nice
The drama was narrowly avoided, it is not the commander Olivier Pécot, in charge of the communication of Sdis 83, who will say the opposite: "
If the uncle had not had this saving action for the little one, we had a 99% chance of getting a body
,” he told Le
Figaro
.
And for good reason, Sunday morning at La Croix-Valmer, near Saint-Tropez, a five-year-old boy fell to the bottom of a well after falling through a piece of rusty sheet metal that covered the hole.
Faced with the urgency of the situation, his uncle descended into the well to help him before the firefighters intervened.
The facts occurred in the middle of the morning, around 10:30 a.m.
Originally from Toulon (Var), the young victim was then in the middle of a football game with other members of his family, gathered for the weekend in a rented villa.
After a few shots, the ball bounced off a stone wall that surrounds the property's well, ending up on its jail cover.
The boy then did not hesitate to climb on the dilapidated base, which immediately gave way under his weight.
“He fell four meters and found himself in the water, without the possibility of going back up
,” continues Commander Pécot.
Read alsoNice: two men arrested after the snatching of a jewel from a passerby
Almost half an hour in the water
Without an ounce of hesitation either, the boy's uncle used a garden hose to descend into the well, to the rescue of his nephew who risked drowning.
For almost half an hour and without their feet, the two of them struggled to keep their heads above water, clinging as best they could to the yellow pipe.
Eleven firefighters from the Cavalaire-sur-Mer and Saint-Tropez barracks arrived on site shortly before 11 a.m.
“First we had to reassure and calm the family who were in shock.
The solution arrived with the Saint-Tropez fire truck.
A firefighter put on a harness and descended into the well to evacuate.
First the child was taken out, then the uncle.
I'
, explains Olivier Pécot.
The well was secure, on that we can not dispute anything.
But the protections were no longer in good condition.
The sheet metal was rusty
Commander Pécot, in charge of communication for the Var Departmental Fire and Rescue Service
Also present on the spot, the Smur immediately took charge of the little miracle and his uncle.
In fact, neither suffered major injuries.
“They were cold and the little one was in slight hypothermia but nothing serious
, details Commander Pécot.
By passing the rusty sheet metal, he could have cut himself seriously and there, things could have gone much worse, with a significant risk of bleeding.
As a safety measure, the Smur doctor nevertheless requested that the boy and his uncle be transported to the health center of the Saint-Tropez hospital.
Read alsoAlpes-Maritimes: a speleologist stuck underground for 45 hours before being rescued
“The well was secure, on that we can not dispute anything. But the protections were no longer in good condition. The sheet metal was rusty. This is an opportunity to remember that wells, such as basins and swimming pools, must have safety closures, in good condition, that goes without saying, ”concludes
Commander Pécot, considering that this type of accident remains very rare. In the region.
“Fortunately, we must not have more than one or two cases per year.”