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Two Missing in Drôme Floods Found Dead After Eygues River Surge

Authorities identified the victims following an expanded downstream search led by gendarmes.

Overview

  • The préfète said the bodies were located downstream from the car in Nyons, one about 1.5 km away and the other roughly 10 km, and identified with family assistance.
  • The victims, a 33-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man, alerted emergency services around 1 a.m. that their vehicle was being carried off before communication was lost.
  • Rescuers recovered the vehicle ensablé with no occupants; it has been extracted and will be examined by investigators as they work to clarify the circumstances.
  • Gendarmes, firefighters, divers, fluvial brigades, drones and a helicopter were mobilized; dangerous conditions forced an overnight pause before searches resumed with a perimeter extended to about 18 km.
  • Vigicrues recorded a rapid rise of the Eygues from 1.78 m to 2.33 m overnight, and Météo-France placed Drôme and Vaucluse on orange flood vigilance during the event.