Franklin storm: a couple in their 70s dies in the English Channel

Monday, February 21 in the morning, the emergency services are mobilized to tow the small city car out of the water. The operation is delicate, while the waves still cover the road where two septuagenarians lost their lives in the night. When they call the emergency services around 10 p.m. the day before, they are in Bricqueville-sur-Mer (Handle) on a submersible road, trapped by the waves in the middle of a storm. Spotted at the bottom of the water an hour later by a helicopter, they were found dead in their vehicle. “It’s a human tragedy”at reacted Hervé Bougon, mayor (without label) from the city.

To date, they are the only known victims of Storm Franklin, which swept through northern France all night. Gusts of rare intensity hit the beaches of Dunkirk, peaks at more than 170 km / h were recorded in the North. Monday in in the morning, the wind always blows very hard, without frightening walkers. The storm intervened less than 48 hours after that of Eunice and again deprived thousands of inhabitants of electricity. Monday morning, 16,000 homes are affected and repairs are delayed by bad weather conditions.