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Rally driver Philippe Boutron in the Saudi Arabian desert (archive image)
Photo: Frà dà ric Le Floc "! H / imago images / PanoramiC
At the Dakar Rally, a driver was injured in an explosion in his vehicle. As the organizers of the desert rally through Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday, the man should be flown to his home country France after his operation. According to the rally organizer ASO, the driver was seriously injured on Thursday when his vehicle was stopped by a "sudden explosion". The police wanted to "rule out no possibility, not even a malicious act."
Afterwards, however, the Saudi Arabian interior minister said on Twitter that there was no “criminal suspicion” of the cause of the “accident”.
According to him, the crashed vehicle was an escort vehicle with a total of six passengers on board, one of whom was hospitalized.
His condition was therefore not critical.
Race director David Castera stated in an interview with French media that the driver was the 61-year-old Philippe Boutron.
The Sodicar team's buggy driver took part in the rally for the ninth time and is president of a French football club in the third division.
Last year, Boutron finished in 33rd place.
According to the rally organizers, Boutron had to have an operation on his leg.
According to the French Foreign Ministry, the other five passengers were unharmed.
Despite the assurances of the Saudi Arabian authorities, the security precautions around the rally camp have been significantly strengthened, as an AFP reporter reported.
In the travel advice on its website, the French Foreign Ministry also called for “maximum vigilance” after the “explosion” and emphasized that “the hypothesis of a criminal act cannot be ruled out”.
oka / sid