Latest news with #LeDauphine
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Yahoo
British woman dies on white-water rafting excursion in French Alps
A British woman has died on a white-water rafting excursion in the French Alps, local media has reported. The accident happened shortly after 12pm local time on Saturday on the Guisane River in Briancon, south-eastern France, regional prosecutor Marion Lozac'hmeur told French news agency AFP. The 69-year-old woman fell from her raft and was later found on the riverbank before being airlifted to hospital in a serious condition, firefighters told local media. Lozac'hmeur said the victim "unfortunately died yesterday evening". An 'involuntary manslaughter' investigation has been opened, Lozac'hmeur confirmed on Saturday, and an autopsy will be conducted. The public prosecutor said: "Investigations are continuing to determine the circumstances of the accident." The woman had been part of an organised trip and the fall happened at a section of the river called 'the wallet', according to local news outlet Le Dauphine. She has not been named by local media outlets or by authorities in France or the UK. It is understood the crew on board the small boat had set off from Parc des Colombiers in Saint-Chaffrey. It was heading towards the bridge on Route Nationale 94, near the Bricorama store in Briançon.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Yahoo
British woman dies after rafting incident in French Alps
A British woman has died on a white-water rafting excursion in the French Alps. The woman fell from her raft shortly after noon local time (11:00 BST) on Saturday on the Guisane river in Briancon, in south-eastern France, the regional prosecutor Marion Lozac'hmeur told French news agency AFP. She was later found on the riverbank before being airlifted to a nearby hospital in a serious condition, firefighters told local media. Lozac'hmeur said the victim "unfortunately died yesterday evening". The Foreign Office confirmed a British woman had died in France, and said it was in touch with the local authorities. The woman had been part of an organised trip on the river and was traversing a section of the river known as "the wallet" when she fell, according to local news outlet Le Dauphine. She has not been named, either in local media or by authorities in France or the UK. An "involuntary manslaughter" investigation had been opened and an autopsy will be conducted, Lozac'hmeur also said.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
He Survived a Bullet to the Head — and Became One of the Most Sadistic Killers You've Never Heard Of
Few know the name Joseph Vacher — even though his crimes surpassed those of the world's most infamous serial killers. Even Jack the Ripper — to whom Vacher is often compared — was linked to fewer than half the murders his French counterpart later confessed to before his execution in 1898. But Vacher's case — which left its mark not only on folklore but also on the field of forensic science — is rarely mentioned in conversations about history's most notorious serial killers. 'I think the reason that he disappeared into obscurity, while the name of Jack the Ripper continues to live, is that Jack was never caught,' said author Douglas Starr, whose 2010 book on Vacher and the birth of forensic science, The Killer of Little Shepherds, once led him on a step-by-step tour of the killer's life in France. Jack the Ripper 'taunted the authorities in the course of his killing spree, but no closure was ever brought to his story,' Starr says. 'To this day, every few years, someone comes up with a theory about who Jack the Ripper may have been,' the author adds, yet, 'the case of Vacher was open and shut — there was never any question of who committed the murders — although no one has ever been able to understand why.' Many have struggled to comprehend Vacher's killings. Upon his execution – via guillotine – in December 1898, The New York Times reported that Vacher's defense attorneys claimed his 'homicidal mania' was perhaps a result of having been bitten by a rabid dog when he was a child. Others at the time pointed to a failed relationship, according to the Times. Lovelorn, Vacher shot himself twice in the head after attempting to kill the woman who turned down his entreaties. Both survived and Vacher's face was permanently disfigured, Starr recounts in his book, which is based on an exhaustive review of historical documents, interviews, and research. Some texts suggest Vacher's disfigurement from the shooting led to him being mocked or stared at in public, causing him to develop a hatred for others. 'I am an Anarchist, and I am opposed to society,' Vacher admitted during his 1898 trial, according to the Times. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. The story of 'The French Ripper,' as Vacher became known, made international headlines after he was caught attempting to kill a farm worker before her husband and a group of neighbors fought him off and held him captive until police arrived. Vacher was a serial rapist, who assaulted his victims before and after he mutilated them, according to Le Dauphine, which looked back at the 19th-century murder case in a 2022 Crimes & Mystéres podcast episode. Vacher eventually confessed to killing at least 11 people throughout the French countryside, often stalking his victims in farm fields, leading to Starr's description of him as 'The Killer of Little Shepherds.' But French trial records show Vacher was accused of murdering more than 50 people throughout the course of his three-year spree. The victims he confessed to killing ranged between the ages of 12 and 68, while he was accused of attacking children as young as 7. His victims included men, women and children. 'Vacher was not simply evil,' says Starr, the author. 'He was a man consumed by pain and self-pity, capable of soaring passions, but also unspeakable crimes.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Skier Dies in 300m Fall in Alps' Couloir des Cosmiques
On May 10, a French skier in his 50s died after falling over 300m in the Couloir des Cosmiques, a steep and dangerous ski route near Chamonix, France, in the Mont Blanc massif. This area is known for tough skiing, graded 5.1, E3, D+, S5, and is popular among very experienced skiers. However, a fall can be fatal. At 9:20 am, the Chamonix PGHM rescue team (Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne) received an alert, according to Le Dauphine. The rescuers helicoptered from their base in Les Bois, reaching the site minutes later. The slope was too steep to land, so rescuers were lowered to the skier. They tried to revive the man, but he had died. They then airlifted out his body. The skier's name was not released. That day was busy for the PGHM, with six rescues. In the Capucin Couloir, another skier broke his leg and was evacuated. On the North Face of Mont Blanc du Tacul, a skier caused an avalanche that swept away others. The PGHM rescued the people and took them to the hospital.
