A British child has died in northern France, authorities have confirmed, amid reports he drowned while on a family camping holiday.
The boy, from east Yorkshire, reportedly got into difficulty in a lake in Berny-Rivière. He was found unconscious at about 6.30pm on Thursday and taken to hospital in Paris by helicopter but did not survive, according to local media.
“We are supporting the family of a British child who has died in France and are in contact with the French authorities,” a Foreign Office spokesman said on Friday.
The boy and his family had been travelling with Kent-based tour operator Venue Holidays, who confirmed his death.
La Croix du Vieux Pont campsite, in the Picardy region to the north-east of Paris, is owned by the European Camping Group and is popular with British holidaymakers.
A spokeswoman for the group said it was “deeply touched” to learn of the boy’s death and expressed her “deep sorrow” to his family. “The group and the camping management and its staff, shocked by this tragedy, are with the holidaymakers and a psychological support was set up, 24 hours a day, with an English-speaking French psychologist.
“The group, for the first time confronted with a fatal accident on one of its sites, is collaborating with the authorities to shed light on the circumstances of the accident.”
The campsite’s website says it is spread over 40 hectares (100 acres) with 660 camping plots and a heated pool complex, as well as a lake surrounded by a manmade beach.
