Fatal towing-tube accident in the Pyrénées-Orientales: What safety rules apply in France?

Two people died and a man was seriously injured Tuesday off Saint-Cyprien in the Pyrénées-Orientales during a ride on a banana-shaped inflatable pulled by a rigid-hull boat. The accident has brought fresh attention to the safety rules governing this popular leisure activity.

Seven UCPA holidaymakers were aboard the inflatable. According to the first information available to investigators, the 31-year-old boat pilot may have lost his balance in a wave and fallen into the water.

“According to the first information available to us, it appears that the boat’s 31-year-old pilot was thrown off balance by a wave and fell into the water. From that moment, the boat seems to have gone out of control, circling in the water and striking both the pilot and the people on the inflatable,” Perpignan public prosecutor Jérôme Bourrier said.

A 29-year-old woman died, while a man in his twenties suffered serious injuries, Bourrier said. An investigation into involuntary manslaughter has been opened. It will examine the circumstances in which the pilot operated the boat and how the collision occurred.

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According to the first information available to us, it appears that the boat’s 31-year-old pilot was thrown off balance by a wave and fell into the water. From that moment, the boat seems to have gone out of control, circling in the water and striking both the pilot and the people on the inflatable.