Injured in the leg, he was operated in Saudi Arabia and must be repatriated to France. Investigations are underway to elucidate the circumstances of the explosion.
Le Monde with AFP
The French pilot Philippe Boutron, wounded Thursday by the explosion of his car near Djedda (West) while participating in Dakar 2022, was operated in Saudi Arabia and must be repatriated to France, announced the Organization of Rally-Raid, Saturday 1 er January.
“The driver of the car was seriously injured in the leg and had to undergo an operation. His condition is being improved (…). His vehicle had been brutally arrested by a sudden explosion whose origin is always unknown at this point. The Saudi Police immediately went to the spot and started its investigations, no possibility, including that of a malicious act, “according to the Organizer’s statement, Amaury Sport Organization ( ASO).
The Saudi authorities speak of “accident”
Shortly after, the Minister of the Saudi Interior, however, dismissed all “criminal suspicion” to explain this “accident”. According to a journalist from the France-Press agency (AFP), security has been widely reinforced around the bivouac of Rally-Raid.