Police have launched a manslaughter investigation after a British woman died while water rafting in southeastern France.
The woman, 69, sustained major injuries while rafting on the Guisane river in the Hautes-Alpes region on Saturday.
She was part of a guided group rafting on a section of the river between a park in Saint-Chaffrey and a bridge in Briançon.
The accident happened near a rapid known locally as the “portefeuille”, which can have violent currents.
Firefighters responding at the scene said the woman fell out of the raft near the dangerous section of the river.
Emergency services found her on the riverbank and took her to Briançon hospital. She was pronounced dead later that day.
“Investigations are continuing to determine the circumstances of the accident,” regional prosecutor Marion Lozac'hmeur said, adding that an autopsy would be carried out. The prosecutor confirmed that an “involuntary manslaughter” investigation had been opened.
The woman has not been named in local media or by authorities in France.
The Hautes-Alpes region is a popular holiday destination in the French Alps, which offers skiing in the winter and adventure activities in the summer.
It is the second largest European region for tourism, according to the French government.
A Foreign Office spokesperson told The Independent: “We are supporting the family of a British national who has died in France, and are in contact with the local authorities.”
Last year, a British man died after getting into difficulty in the River Durance while on a kayaking trip.
The man, in his 50s, had been on a group kayaking trip in Briançon in June 2024 when his kayak flipped over. Two other kayakers were pulled out of the river uninjured, according to local media.
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