The words are strong.
The chilling tale.
And the desire to know the very real truth.
Wednesday morning on
RMC
, Benoit Boutron, son of Philippe Boutron seriously affected during an explosion on the Dakar on December 30 in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and Mayeul Barbet, co-pilot present during the incident, brought "
for the first and last time
”their testimony but especially news from the main affected.
There is no doubt that a car does not explode in the middle of anything 500 meters after leaving the hotel.
We want justice to be done
Benoit Boutron, son of Philippe Boutron
Read also Saudi Arabia: the embarrassment of Riyadh after the Dakar rally-raid attack
"
It is serious what happened,
attests Benoit Boutron, also sports journalist on RMC.
My father is out of a coma, it's a first step. The luck that we have with my relatives is that we can see him on a daily basis. He is seriously injured in both legs and we will know more in 10 days. Our exchanges remain limited, he went through an intensive care unit, it takes time to recover.
And the son of the Orleans driver to reveal the details of an explosion that goes far beyond the framework of the Dakar. "
There was an emergency after the explosion, he was placed in a military hospital before being repatriated to France.
Mayeul (Barbet, the co-driver) saved my father's life and it is his expert car eye that says there is no doubt about the car explosion.
"
Read also Dakar 2022: investigation for attempted terrorist assassinations
Present on Thursday, December 30 in Jeddah in the car that exploded, Mayeul Barbet, very moved, gives his testimony. “
We didn't expect that at all. On Thursday, two days before the start of the race, we leave the hotel to reach the bivouac, there are 6 of us in the car, we do 500m and it explodes. A big explosion. Before leaving Philippe out, I was glued to the ceiling of the car, I was blown away. I know right away that there is no doubt that it is not an engine problem. In my head, it's not normal, in the car, the atmosphere is complicated, the airbags are triggered. Before leaving, the 5 other people on board are shocked, but Philippe is hit more seriously and tells me
"
you are going to have to take me out
".
I see that his legs are badly damaged, he was bleeding a lot, we did a tourniquet but the car started to catch fire.
We decide to take him out and give him first aid
.
"
Read also Dakar: relatives of the pilot speak of "a bomb attack" after the explosion of his vehicle
For Benoit Boutron, there are many questions after this serious incident which prompted the opening of an investigation on Tuesday, January 4 for "
attempted assassinations in connection with a terrorist enterprise
". Very moved on set this Thursday during the morning of RMC, the son of the president of the Orleans football club awaits clarification. "The question I ask myself this morning is:"
How would we have been informed if we had not had our relatives there?
".
I didn't hear from the race director, they called us on January 1, two and a half days after the accident, once the race had started.
The big fault (of the race director) is that the bivouac was not warned.
"Relaunched on a possible attack, the son of the seriously affected driver does not beat around the bush:"
There is no doubt, a car does not explode in the middle of nothing 500 meters after leaving the hotel .
We want justice to be done.
"
