Ariège in shock after a terrible accident on Friday afternoon in Savignac-les-Ormeaux, near Ax-les-Thermes, towards Andorra. Two vehicles collided face to face around 3 p.m. Six people, including two minors, died in this accident, the cause of which is not yet known. Four injured, two of them seriously, were transported to the Purpan hospital in Toulouse.
A manslaughter investigation is open. At this stage, the speed of one or more vehicles has not been mentioned by the authorities. The mayor of Savignac-les-Ormeaux believes that this portion of the RN20, which opened in 2017 to bypass Ax-les-Thermes, is not particularly dangerous.
France Bleu Occitanie: Is this portion of the RN20 dangerous?
Nicholas Pech: No. It is a portion that allows you to avoid Savignac-les-Ormeaux and the town of Ax-les-Thermes, it is not strictly speaking dangerous. Besides, there have been no accidents since it opened. There had been a death at the entrance, but it was on the access ramp. For a long time, there had been nothing. It is a two-way, limited to 80 km/h. The RN is not accident-prone in this place, on the contrary. There are many more accidents a little higher, on the section that goes up from Ax-les-Thermes to Pas-de-la-Case. By the way, more often accidents with two-wheelers.
France Bleu Occitanie: Does everyone share this observation?
Nicolas Pech: Yes, talking with the DIRSO (Interdepartmental Directorate of South-West Roads) and the firefighters, we don’t remember having had an accident there. Now it’s individual responsibility.
France Bleu Occitanie: So we don’t know what caused this accident?
Nicolas Pech: We don’t know what happened. We know there was a frontal impact but afterwards we don’t know. Has anyone fallen asleep? was there any discomfort? A priori, there was no overrun. The investigation will tell.