A former Lyon and Saint-Etienne footballer, 21, has been declared brain de@d following an incident in the Rhone River.
Kenzo Kies had been enjoying the French heatwave near the Parc de la Feyssine, between Villeurbanne and Caluire-et-Cuire, where swimming is prohibited.
Emergency services were called to the scene at around 5:30pm on Monday, June 22.
According to local reports, four people, including Kies, had been sucked into a strong current. It’s claimed two people were pulled from the river without requiring medical attention, while a third was carried out of the water and resuscitated before being taken to a nearby hospital in a stable condition.
However, Kies, at first, could not be found.
Divers eventually managed to pull him from the water but he was declared brain d£ad following a resuscitation attempt.
According to French outlet RMC Sport, an investigation into the cause of d£ath has been opened by the Lyon public prosecutor’s office.
French sports minister Marina Ferrari issued a warning against swimming in potentially dangerous areas on Tuesday, June 23.
She said: “Around 20 people have dr0wned since the start of last weekend. I urge people to respect the safety warnings. People go to swim in unsupervised areas during heatwaves, and it is not a trivial matter.
“I understand people want to go into the water to cool down. But they really have to stick to areas that are supervised.”