A British father has been killed and his toddler son badly injured in a jet ski accident during a family holiday on the French Riviera.
The man, 41, was driving the machine with his three-year-old son as a passenger when he crashed. The boy is now fighting for his life at a hospital in the south of France.
The family were staying with friends near Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat when the tragedy happened.
According to reports the father, a Briton of Russian origin who was living in Northern Ireland, drove into a small cove and lost control. It is believed that he was travelling at full speed when he hit a wall protecting the cove just before 11am yesterday.
About 20 members of the rescue services, including firefighters, ambulance crew and the coastguard rescue team rushed to the scene.
The man could not be revived and his son, named in reports as Michael, was taken by ambulance to Nice’s specialist Lenval Children’s Hospital, which treated about 50 youngsters injured in the Bastille Day attack that killed 85 people. He is in intensive care.
Police officers are believed to be investigating whether excessive speed was involved. The investigation, which is led by the gendarmerie of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, will also examine the jet ski for possible malfunctions.
The father and son are believed to have borrowed the machine from the family with whom they were staying.
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, a forested peninsula between Nice and Monaco, has some of the costliest homes in the world and continues to attract elite buyers. Residents are said to include Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
Read More
MORE ABOUT