9, December 2020
Helicopter carrying air rescue crew crashes in French Alps, five killed 0
Five people were killed in a helicopter crash in the French Alps on Tuesday and a sixth was injured and fighting for his life, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
The helicopter was carrying an air rescue crew on a training mission when it went down at an altitude of 1,800 meters (5,905 feet), local authorities said.
The pilot of the aircraft, which also had another pilot on board as well as two winch operators and two mountain rescue workers, was able to eject and give the alert.
Three helicopters were dispatched but had been unable to reach the accident site due to fog while rescue teams were also trying to approach by ground, the Savoie prefecture said in a statement.
France’s air accident bureau said separately that it had opened an investigation and would dispatch a team to the site.
Source: REUTERS
11, December 2020
French winner hits 200-million-euro lottery jackpot 0
A record jackpot of 200 million euros ($242 million) was won Friday in France by a ticket holder who has 120 days to claim the prize, the EuroMillions lottery said.
The win is the biggest ever scooped by a player of the EuroMillions lottery with the previous record standing at 190 million euros, won a number of times, most recently in October 2019.
Friday’s staggering prize went up for grabs after the jackpot rolled over twice last week.
Players in France have picked up 110 out of 499 Euromillions jackpots — nearly a quarter — since it began in 2004, followed by Britain which has had 108 winners and Spain with 105.
Apart from France, EuroMillions tickets can be bought in in Austria, Belgium, Britain, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.
Source: AFP