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Camille Muffat R.I.P.

Really sad news.

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Prosecutors in France have opened a manslaughter investigation after two helicopters crashed in Argentina, killing eight French nationals.

Three well-known French sports personalities were among those killed in the collision, which also claimed the lives of the two Argentine pilots.

French President Francois Hollande said it was "a cause of immense sadness".

Both helicopters were involved in the filming of TV survival show Dropped, which airs on French channel TF1.

On the show, celebrities are flown into rough terrain and filmed while they attempt to find food and shelter.

Yachtswoman Florence Arthaud, Olympic swimmer Camille Muffat and Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine were the show's celebrities on board at the time of the crash. They all died.

Other contestants were standing on the ground blindfolded a few hundred metres away when the accident happened near Villa Castelli in La Rioja province, French media said.

Reports in Argentina said French swimmer Alain Bernard, who was also taking part in the show, narrowly escaped the crash after getting off one of the helicopters at the last minute to avoid overloading it.

The five other French nationals killed were said to have worked for Adventure Line Productions (ALP), the company making the programme. They were named as Laurent Sbasnik, Lucie Mei-Dalby, Volodia Guinard, Brice Guilbert and Edouard Gilles.

The Argentine pilots were named as Juan Carlos Castillo and Roberto Abate.

Camille Muffat, 25, won three medals, including gold in the 400m freestyle in the 2012 London Olympics. She retired from competitive swimming in 2014.

Alexis Vastine, 28, won bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the light-welterweight category. He was narrowly beaten in the quarter-finals of the 2012 Games.

Florence Arthaud, 57, was a hugely accomplished sailor, winning the 1990 Route du Rhum, the prestigious solo Atlantic race. A serious car accident put her in a coma when she was 17.

Former Arsenal and France striker Sylvain Wiltord, who was taking part in the current series, said: "I'm trembling, I can't talk. I'm horrified."

But amid the horror there are also the first signs of anger. Well-known musician Benjamin Bioley has criticised what he called a "horrible TV reality show that serves up cardboard stars and then steals three wonderful athletes".

As the country begins to absorb the news, the questions over this incident and the circumstances that led to it will only grow.

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