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Tragedy at Tour

July 18, 2009

A woman watching the 14th stage has died tragically after being hit by a French police motorbike, about 40 km from the city of Colmar, the starting point of Saturday's race.

https://p.dw.com/p/IsGZ
The Tour de France
This is the second recent fatal accident at the Tour

The accident happened in the village of Wittelsheim, as the riders were on their way from Colmar to Besancon.

"A woman crossed the road and was hit by a Republican Guardsman on a motorcycle. Then the motorcycle slid and hit one or two more people," said a spokesman for the French police, the gendarmerie.

Race organisers confirmed that three spectators were being treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to the hopsital in the neighboring town of Mulhouse.

This is the first fatal accident to occur at the Tour de France since 2002, when a child died after being hit by a car that was part of the publicity caravan.

glb/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Andreas Illmer