Sawt Falasteen - Four badly hurt after car hits crowd at French kite festival

NYSE - LSE
SCS 0% 15.76 $
CMSD 0.37% 24.1 $
NGG 1.88% 77.75 $
GSK -1.01% 46.63 $
RIO 0.09% 69.33 $
RELX -2.65% 42.27 $
AZN 0.96% 84.58 $
CMSC 0.29% 23.85 $
RYCEF 0.54% 14.88 $
RBGPF -1.04% 75.22 $
BCC -0.13% 70.64 $
JRI -0.07% 13.74 $
VOD 2.07% 11.58 $
BCE 0.09% 23.19 $
BTI 0.7% 54.59 $
BP 2.08% 36.58 $
Four badly hurt after car hits crowd at French kite festival
Four badly hurt after car hits crowd at French kite festival / Photo: Sameer Al-DOUMY - 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.

P.AbuBaker--SF-PST