Three volunteer firefighters from the Blanzac fire station in Charente were seriously injured whilst responding to a call-out on Sunday evening, shortly after 5.30 pm.
They were called out to rescue a horse in Mouthiers-sur-Boëme. On a straight stretch of the D12, just before Mouthiers, the driver of the heavy forest fire tanker lorry (CCF) lost control of his vehicle whilst attempting to overtake. The CCF appears to have skidded onto the hard shoulder, overturned and rolled several times before coming to a halt on the roadside.
The 47-year-old driver was trapped in his vehicle and had to be cut free. He was seriously injured and had to be airlifted to Poitiers University Hospital. However, his condition is not thought to be life-threatening.
The other two occupants of the lorry – the 39-year-old foreman and the 24-year-old crew member – were thrown from the vehicle and seriously injured. They were taken to Angoulême Hospital by their colleagues, who made a significant effort to rescue them, according to a statement from the SDIS.
Psychological support was immediately put in place for the other firefighters and their families at the Blanzac Fire and Rescue Service.