Officials have announced that at least nine people have drowned in rough Mediterranean seas in the south of France, reports BBC News.
They were swept out to sea while swimming in choppy waters on several different beaches on the south coast.
High winds had stirred up the seas, causing a swell, French media report.
Five people in their 60s and 70s died in Hérault, two aged 58 and 71 died in Bouches-du-Rhône, and another two died on a beach in Leucate, Aude.
Emergency services in Hérault said they had tried to save 12 people drowning off beaches in Agde, La Grande-Motte, Marseillan, Serignan and Vias. Seven were rescued but five died.
The region was then placed on an orange alert for thunderstorms, rains and floods.
"I cannot understand how people got into the water when the seas were rough," Jordan Dartier, the mayor of Vias, told French broadcaster LCI. One man drowned there after reportedly falling from rocks.
"It's a dramatic day for our region," he added.
Hérault's fire and rescue service had urged people to avoid swimming.
"Choppy seas are making water activities dangerous," the service tweeted in the afternoon, with a video of waves crashing into the shoreline.
The two swimmers who died in Cassis and La Ciotat in the Bouches-du-Rhône area drowned after being dragged out to sea, local media report.