Image Jean-Christophe Magnenet (AFP), click to see original in Le Figaro

Once a year, the quiet little village of Plan-de-la-Tour known as a retreat for celebrities such as Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, roars to life with the 157km Plan-de-la-Tour rally. A popular event, this year being the 14th, it draws a large crowd. Sadly this year a number in that crowd became its victims.

Yann Buron and Jean-Luc Ferrero, driving in an orange Golf, rather than turning at corner at Les Vignes instead went straight and ploughed through the watching crowd, before veering off and hitting more people. According to eye witnesses the rally car appeared to be having problems with its brakes.

In total two people were killed, including one race marshal, and nineteen others were taken to hospital. The emergency services were overwhelmed by the scale of the accident, and had 50 people on scene helping the victims as well as 20 ambulances and 4 helicopters. The two drivers, both aged 54, were initially taken into custody but after taking blood and alcohol tests were later released. The driver claimed at the moment of the accident the brakes felt “spongy”. Police are conducting a post-mortem on the crashed car to determine the actual cause.