Météo France had placed, this Monday, May 23, twelve departments of the Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes region on "storms" alert, including that of Ain in which the Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne racecourse is located.
Located about fifty kilometers from Lyon, this multidisciplinary racetrack offered, this Monday afternoon, its sixth meeting of the year out of the seven annual ones.
The ground was said to be soft and the first three races went off without incident, as indicated by the driver, Lucas Verrière, 28, winner of the second event: "There were no storms despite heavy rain at the start of meeting.
It rushed after the third race devoted to gallopers.
While Bertrand Cury and his son, Axel, were harnessing their boarder,
Hérisau de Paumar
, with their driver, Georges Fournigault, lightning struck this 5-year-old gelding, killing him instantly. .
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Following this extremely rare incident, the last five races of this meeting dedicated to trotters and gallopers were logically canceled and a feeling of panic invaded the racecourse, as the son of Jean-Louis Verrière admits: "Everyone was scared.
The paramedics and firefighters arrived very quickly, taking care of the injured professionals, followed by the gendarmes.
The atmosphere was heavy.
The drivers, trainers and team staff were in shock.
This is the first time that I have witnessed such a tragedy.
»
According to information from France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the injured people were transferred to hospitals in Mâcon (Saône-et-Loire) and Villefranche-sur-Saône (Rhône).
They suffer from burns.
The driver, Georges Fournigault, is the most affected victim but his vital prognosis is not engaged.
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