Seven-year-old boy killed
in Tour accident

A seven-year old boy was killed on Wednesday when he was struck by a car in the publicity caravan on the Tour de France, official sources said.

A helicopter was rushed to the scene but the child was declared dead before he could be flown to Bordeaux main hospital, firemen said.

The accident happened in the village of Retgons, 26 kilometres into the 10th stage of the race from Bazas to Pau in the south-west of France.

The child stepped out in front of the car as he went to cross the road and join his grandmother on the other side, police said.

"This accident must remind all the people who are following the Tour that the roads of the race are dangerous and that they must be very careful," Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc told the caravan through the internal Tour Radio.

The roads on the Tour de France are open to the public, most of the time without the protection of fences. Policemen and gendarmes are stationed every 500 metres. The caravan is preceded by an official car and all drivers are issued with an instructions booklet.

Last year, a car driver crashed into the crowd and injured four people at the finish line of the eighth stage between Pontarlier and Colmar, in the east of France.

Two years ago, a 12-year-old boy was killed by a car overtaking the caravan on the 13th stage from Avignon to Draguignan in the Rhone valley.

It was the first fatal accident involving a spectator since 1988 when a child was killed by a publicity car near Limoges.

In 1995, Italian Tour rider Fabio Casartelli was killed in a crash on the descent of the Portet d'Aspet climb in the Pyrenees.