Berliner Tageblatt - Four badly hurt after car hits crowd at French kite festival

NYSE - LSE
CMSC -0.22% 22.77 $
RIO 0.98% 86.64 $
NGG -0.59% 81.92 $
CMSD -0.4% 22.66 $
RBGPF -19.57% 69 $
BCE -0.87% 25.25 $
GSK -0.19% 53.84 $
AZN 2.66% 188.42 $
BTI 0.65% 57.8 $
BCC 0.19% 74.43 $
VOD -0.97% 14.49 $
JRI -2.29% 11.8 $
BP 1.09% 46.68 $
RYCEF -4.03% 14.65 $
RELX -0.31% 31.97 $
Four badly hurt after car hits crowd at French kite festival
Four badly hurt after car hits crowd at French kite festival / Photo: © AFP

Four badly hurt after car hits crowd at French kite festival

Eleven people were injured, four seriously, after a car ploughed into a crowd at an international kite-flying festival in northern France on Saturday, officials said.

Text size:

The accident was caused by a disabled 76-year-old driver who "confused the accelerator and brake pedals", a statement from the local prosector's office said.

The accident happened in the early evening at the seaside town of Berck-sur-Mer where hundreds of thousands of people gather each year for the festival.

Four women, including two pensioners aged 75 and 82, are being treated for life-threatening head injuries in intensive care, the emergency services and local officials said.

The driver, who was lightly injured in the accident, faces a possible charge of causing injuries unintentionally.

Popular with families and drawing visitors from around the world, the annual Berck-sur-Mer festival is held over several days, featuring acrobatic kite flying shows and build-your-own workshops.

One of the 11 injured was a four-year-old girl who suffered shock after witnessing the accident, an official said.

L.Dubois--BTB