The French pilot Philippe Boutron was seriously injured in the explosion that struck a support vehicle on December 30 in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, two days before the start of the race.
His loved ones hammering that this is an attack, when the authorities did not exhibit any track. The explosion that seriously injured the French pilot Philippe Boutron, on December 30 in Jedda, in Saudi Arabia, is now the subject of a preliminary investigation for “attempted murders in relation to a terrorist company”, after “L Explosion who touched the vehicle occupied by a crew of five French “, announced the national anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office (UNAT), Tuesday, January 4th. This explosion that touched the crew of Sodicars Racing took place two days before the departure of Rally Raid Dakar. The investigations are entrusted to the Internal Safety Directorate (DGSI), specified the UNAT in a statement.
Philippe Boutron, 61 years old, is currently “placed in an artificial coma so as to alleviate his sufferings”, his legs having been “pouring” by deflating, specifies his team . He is currently supported at Percy Military Hospital in Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine). As for his co-pilot, Mayeul Barbet, he is also back in France, where, says the team, “he rebuilt morally after living one of the most painful weeks of his life”.
“We were exploded”
What happened really, Thursday, December 30th? The fact that the facts is now known, but areas of shadow remain around the causes of the explosion, which prematurely put an end to the ninth Dakar of Philippe Boutron.
This was driving the support vehicle, on which his co-pilot and four other people had also taken place, to join the bivouac where the advanced technical checks were taking place. After rolling a few hundred meters at the exit of their hotel, a deflanguage occurred on the edge of a gas station. “The car started to get kissing, and Philippe asked me to help him get out of the seat,” says Mayeul Barbet In a testimonial relayed on January 2 by Sodicars Racing .
For the latter, it is not an accident, but an “attack” with a bomb placed in the spar, one of the pieces of the chassis. A thesis shared by Thierry Richard, 57, also present in the 4 x 4 during the drama. “We have seen the impact under the vehicle. We are not beasts, we know what it is too, a blast. We had a breath in the car, described the pilot to the France– Press (AFP). We were exploded. “
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