The 11-year-old child who had disappeared at sea during a summer camp in Charente-Maritime was found dead on Monday, August 16 at around 7 p.m., according to information from Sud-Ouest.
Friday afternoon, a group of children from a summer camp found themselves in difficulty in the water, due to the current, off the beach of Meschers-sur-Gironde (Charente-Maritime), on the northern slope of the Gironde estuary, indicated the maritime prefecture of the Atlantic. Nautical means, jet-ski, speedboats, semi-rigid, and aerial (helicopter) were engaged and three young people were rescued: a young girl hospitalized for a beginning of drowning but not serious, and the two others shocked, taken in charge at the beach station.
The 11-year-old girl remained missing after several hours of searching on Friday and Saturday.
They resumed Sunday, to a lesser extent.
The helpers already had little hope of finding her alive.
His lifeless body was brought to land this Monday evening on the large beach of Saint-Georges-de-Didonne.
According to Sud-Ouest, the beach was evacuated by the SNSM of Royan and the national police quickly went there.
A local doctor also came to establish the death certificate.
Read also Drowning in summer camps: tragedies remain rare
“The group was very probably taken by the tide, explained Saturday Estelle Leprêtre, sub-prefect of Jonzac. The sea was rough, the coefficient was high, it rose quickly. »The area in which the children and the two animators who supervised them bathed were supervised.
Beyond these holidays, the deceased girl was supported by social assistance for children (ASE), hosted the rest of the year in the Serenne home, also located in Orléans.
On site, it is described as rather sporty.
“She has her aquatic fluency test, which is essential to participate in this type of internship,” assured us Jessica Giquello, deputy director of the Home for children of a social nature (MECS) of the Serenne Foundation.
The educator said she was in shock, and in a state of bewilderment.
"Everyone knows her, she is a resourceful child," added the manager.
An open investigation
On the sidelines of the research, justice was seized of an investigation, opened by the prosecution of Saintes.
In particular, it will have to determine whether the security and supervision conditions have been respected.
The rescue services and the Maritime Prefecture of the Atlantic once again insisted on Saturday on the dangerousness of the currents on the Aquitaine coast, and in particular the baïnes.
These kinds of seawater basins seem harmless at low tide, but their so-called "rip-off" currents can quickly sweep out to sea.
They take away dozens of bathers every summer, some of whom perish.
Some 700 accidental drownings, including 168 fatal, occurred in France between June and early August, according to Public Health France, a figure down (-22%) compared to the previous survey in 2018, and which can be explained by a weather not conducive to swimming this summer.
But the strong heat forecast for the second part of August could increase the risk of drowning, warn the authors of the investigation.
