The driver, seriously injured in the explosion of his support vehicle on the Dakar, testified Thursday to France Bleu Orléans.
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“I don’t know when I will be able to walk again”, testified Thursday, January 27 on France Bleu Orléans the pilot Philippe Boutron, seriously injured in both legs during the explosion of his assistance vehicle on December 30 just before the start of the Dakar 2022. The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat), opened a preliminary investigation on January 4.
Repatriated on January 3 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and now hospitalized in the Percy military hospital in Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine), Philippe Boutron recounts the “shock” of the explosion: “The bomb was put under the floor and I took the floor in the legs.” The pilot remained conscious after the explosion before being placed in an artificial coma for three days and being repatriated to France.
“Today I have two transplants on each leg”, he adds and explains that “amputation has been mentioned”. However, he considers himself lucky because “the situation is improving”, before a third operation on Monday 31 January. “My legs are saved and that is essential”, is satisfied Philippe Boutron. “I am very well surrounded and I have had a lot of messages of support and that, I can tell you that for morale, it is something very important.”