French sports fans are mourning after three French athletes died in a helicopter crash in Argentina.
Two helicopters collided Monday evening shortly after taking off in a mountainous area in La Rioja province, killing 10 people including eight French passengers and the choppers’ two Argentinian pilots. One of the helicopter’s tail section reportedly came into contact with the other helicopter. There were no survivors, NPR reports.
The helicopters were reported to be be heading to a location for the filming of the reality TV show entitled “Dropped” for the French broadcaster TF1. The show consisted of dropping teams of world-class athletes into remote locations, in a contest to see who could make it back to civilization first, as reported by NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley from Paris.
The dead included the famed sailor Florence Arthaud, who competed in 1990 Route du Rhum and broke the record for crossing the North Atlantic alone in 1990. Her accomplishment was regarded as a triumph in the male-dominated sport.
Swimmer Camille Muffat had won three medals at the 2012 Olympics in London, including a gold medal that set an Olympic record in the 400-meter freestyle.
Boxer Alexis Vastine was also an Olympian who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
“We learn with immense sadness of the accident that occurred during the filming of the show ‘Dropped’, ” TF1 said in a brief statement.
French President Francois Hollande said in a statement that the deaths had brought on “an immense sadness.”
