A reel, a boat with a very powerful engine, a very sensitive throttle, and a teenager returning to his parents in a coffin. Glénans sailing school was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the investigation into the death of a young man, who was hit by a boat propeller in 2019 during a kitesurfing course, we learned Monday, November 24 from consistent sources.
The Glénans Association, known as one of Europe’s largest sailing schools, confirmed their indictment dated 27 October. But he clarified that he did not want to talk about the matter. “as long as the investigation is not closed.” Founded in 1947, the school based in Brittany, Corsica and Hérault welcomes more than 15,000 instructors and trainees per year.
The alleged facts occurred in the spring of 2019. On April 28, Stanislas Renard, 18, took a kitesurfing course offered by a school on the Glénan (Finistère) archipelago. Passionate about water sports, this young man from the Paris area is not his first attempt: “He liked Glénan because he had done six or seven apprenticeships. It was his second kitesurfing course. said his parents Telegram on October 31st.
But when a boat driven by a trainee instructor came to pick him up at the end of the day, not far from Penfret Island, the teenager was trapped by the propeller. Very badly wounded by the sword, he was carried back to the island; he was pronounced dead three hours later by a doctor who was flown in.
Tragic accident resulting from a chain reaction: unbalanced due to a rollover, the boat’s occupants would step on the accelerator, pushing the semi-rigid vehicle towards the kitesurfer. The Glénans School was accused of giving the trainee instructor too much responsibility considering his training and leaving him to pilot a boat with a very powerful engine and very sensitive and unprotected throttle controls. A report from the Bureau of Maritime Incident Investigation (BEA Mer) published in September 2019 has reported a series of malfunctions that were at the origin of the accident.
“Stanislas’ parents are satisfied that this file is finally moving forward, and in the right direction, after years of inertia.” reacts to AFP Me Dylan Slama, attorney for the victim’s family. “This is an important step towards official recognition of serious violations of safety regulations.” he said, emphasizing that his clients wanted it “Responsibility must be established, not out of a spirit of revenge, but out of concern for the truth and with the hope that such a tragedy will never happen again.”
“This was manslaughter and not an accident. Case law says that when organizations care for children, those children should not come back in coffins. We had the impression of being forgotten people in the system, said Frédérique and François Renard in Telegram in late October, after six and a half years without significant progress in the procedure.
Four people were also charged in the case, according to sources close to the case. Contacted by AFP, the Quimper prosecutor’s office did not provide a response.
