Var: one dead and two missing after violent storms

One person lost their life in the commune of Le Lavandou (Var) and two others were reported missing during a storm marked by intense rain, the Var prefecture and the Toulon public prosecutor announced on Tuesday, May 20.

An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of death, and has been entrusted to the Bormes-les-Mimosas gendarmerie, explained the Toulon public prosecutor, Samuel Finielz.

The couple reportedly left their home while a storm was looming over the area and drove off in their vehicle, which was reportedly swept away by a torrent. The vehicle was found in Le Lavandou, in the Cavalière area, and operations are underway to extract the body trapped in the wreckage, believed to be that of the woman. The search for the man's body is still ongoing, the magistrate also explained.

The second person sought by the authorities has been reported missing in the commune of Vidauban, the Var prefecture said. "Reconnaissance missions are currently being conducted" and the toll "remains provisional," the prefecture stressed in its press release.

"Two hundred firefighters are mobilized and around fifty interventions have been carried out, including some for rescues and securing people," explained the prefecture, adding that the orange alert for "storms and rain-flooding" in the department ended at 2 p.m.

The storm affected the Lavandou area, as well as the municipalities of Vidauban, Le Luc, La Garde-Freinet, Grimaud, Collobrières, La Môle, Cavalaire and Bormes-les-Mimosas, the prefecture explained.

Reinforcements are expected in particular "from Bouches-du-Rhône (SDIS 13, marine firefighter battalion), Alpes-Maritimes and the Civil Security Instruction and Intervention Unit 7 in Brignoles" , the prefecture also indicated.