accident

A 64-year-old civilian who was invited as a back-seat passenger on a flight in a French air force Rafale fighter jet became so unsteadied by the g-force as his straps unloosened that he accidentally grabbed the ejector handle, rocketing him out of the aircraft when he parachuted – safely – to ground in north-east France, a probe into the incident has found.  

French railways staff have massively used their legal right to 'withdraw' from their posts after an accident at a level crossing in north-east France, when 11 people were reported injured, claiming that it was unregulatory that only the driver was present to deal with the incident, provoking massive disrution just as mid-term school holidays began.

British cycling champion Chris Froome, 34, who was due to attempt a record-breaking fifth win in the Tour de France to be held in July, has been ruled out of the race after crashing into a wall at around 60 kph during a practice run in the Critérium du Dauphiné road race in central France, fracturing sevreal bones.

The boy and his 10-year-old brother, who survived the accident, were on a skiing holiday at the Avoriaz resort when they went down a mountain and strayed off-piste for an unknown reason on Saturday and apparently became lost, removing their skis and entering a forest before falling off a 150-metre cliff.

A lifeboat with five crew members in it fell from the Harmony of the Seas, while docked in Marseille, reportedly tumbling 10 metres from the ship's fifth deck.

A spokesman said Kerry, who has called off the rest of his four-state tour, suffered a broken leg.

The boy, on a family skiing holiday in Flaines near the Swiss border, apparently became lost on a piste before falling over a rock formation.

Most of the 41 injured, seven of whom are in a serious condition, were pensioners from the town of Ouistreham in Normandy.

After the derailment in Drancy, just north of Paris, a fire service official said radiological tests found no leaks.

Ruling comes two years after another French court fined the airline and held it criminally responsible for the 2000 crash which killed 113.

The French governement said a steam leak at France's oldest nuclear plant, in which two workers sustained injuries, posed no risk.

Former French prime minister François Fillon breaks his foot in a moped accident while holidaying on Capri, Italy, with Ferrari's chairman.

Two British climbers aged 22 and 24 died after falling more than 2,500ft near the town of Chamonix in the French Alps.