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Friends of lost skier who died in icy river could face charges
Peter Allen in Paris15 Jan 2009
FRIENDS of a British student found frozen to death in an Alpine river face criminal charges for ignoring her pleas for help.
French prosecutors believe they failed to contact the emergency services immediately after receiving a text from Rachel Ward, 20, reading: "I'm lost." It was almost nine hours before two strangers came across her body floating head down in the water.
Failing to assist a person in danger is a criminal offence in France, punishable with a prison sentence of up to five years.
Miss Ward left the message on a close friend's mobile phone soon after 1am on Tuesday after leaving a bar in the ski resort of Val d'Isère. She had been trying to contact fellow students who were staying with her at the Jardin d'Alpin chalet complex. Moments later, the Durham University undergraduate slipped down an icy bank into the fast-moving Isère river, where she succumbed to hypothermia. It was not until 9.45am that her body was found by two supermarket employees on their way to work.
At no time up until this point had emergency services received a call from Miss Ward's party. Many are believed to have carried on drinking at Pub Morris, the bar where Miss Ward had attended a party until after midnight. Significantly, one of Miss Ward's friends is believed to have called her back at one point, offering directions which she said she would follow.
Ten minutes later the friend phoned her again. When no one answered the friend hung up, police believe. "The correct procedure should have been to alert the emergency services by dialling 112," said a source.
All the friends are being interrogated at length.
Her.
Reader views (14)
in reaction to the idea that being lost does not constitute an emergency. of course it does when you're facing freezing temperatures, whether you're drunk or not.
- Sc, London, 15/01/2009 23:02
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Surely being lost cannot constitute "an emergency"!
- Sir P, London, 15/01/2009 18:30
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I'm currently in Val and was interested to hear some girls from Durham on a lift saying they'd be drinking "less than their usual amount" tonight.
It really is quite hard to fall in the river in Val - as well as being lost, I'd wager she was pretty far gone, esp if she was in the moris bar until after midnight. That's a big nightspot.
- Andy W, val d'isere, france, 15/01/2009 16:24
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Paulina Smid. At no point in the report does it say this girl was drunk. She may have simply slipped. Your heartlessness is breathtaking - how would you feel if this was your daughter or sister and someone reacted so dismissively to her death? And even if she was drunk, did she really deserve to freeze to death? You must feel very smug in your self-righteous little world.
- Lw, London, 15/01/2009 16:03
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Emma, what do you want the local authority to do? Rope off the river? Stop the local bars serving alcohol? Maybe ban skiing altogether as a dangerous activity? I wish people would stop thinking that it is the local authority's job to play God and prevent any accidents happening to anyone anywhere (not even God does that). In England we live in such a blame and compensation culture that it has led to the extremes of Health and Safety ridiculousness we now have here. What happened to personal responsibility and common sense?
- Claire, London, 15/01/2009 15:57
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Paul, London: yes - a bit of an anathma for a Brit - but the French police do really want to be called every time a person is lost, especially in the mountains. I can leave my doors and windows open all day and nothing will be stolen from my house because the local police presence (along with a more law-abiding community) leave them free to respond.
Paul - also, it seems, from London: yes - unlike the UK, there is one number to dial to speak to a French-speaking operator, but if you dial 999 you can speak to an English-speaking operator. Although the French are constantly irritated by more British drunk youngsters than French ones, they will of course respond. This is not the UK: visiting revellers fall into the river and drown in a drunken stupor more frequently than one would think and if you are in trouble you can - like in British Olden Days - ask a policeman to help.
- Roz, Chamonix, France, 15/01/2009 15:43
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The problem is, that what to one person translates as a dangerous situation might to another be a regular occurence. Surely the root of the cause and thus the problem is not the poor girls frinds, but the people in charge of the surrounding area (ie: the local authority?)And what about the bars, who continue to serve these students well aware that are mere visitors to the area and not experts in mountaineering?
- Emma Corbet - Milward`, London, UK, 15/01/2009 15:12
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John, "surely she could have said where she was lost", if she knew where she was lost, she wouldnt BE lost would she!!
- Sherlock Holmes, London, 15/01/2009 14:46
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A tragic case. But frankly, "I'm lost" probably translates as "I'm so drunk I don't remember where I am." Sadly, this state has become so typical of Brits when they're out anywhere (in the UK or abroad) that one has to wonder there are any Brits left at all. If natural selection is anything to trust in, it will soon take care of the matter. After all, Darwin was British, wasn't he?
- Paulina Smid, London, UK, 15/01/2009 14:18
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Has the French police heard of an accident, as this clearly was? If someone texts you "I'm lost" are you supposed to call the police after being in a bar drinking? It would be slightly different if she texted" Help I have fell down a bank and i am on the side of a river".
- Paddy, Kilburn, London UK, 15/01/2009 14:10
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At the end of the day she was an adult who was responsible for herself. I hope our goverment don't jump on the bandwagon and start introducing this law.
- Triffidqueen, Desk in London, 15/01/2009 13:48
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"I'm lost" isn't exactly a lot of help is it? Surely she could have said where she was lost...?
- John, Wapping, 15/01/2009 13:18
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I can imagine the response of the French police if an English voice rang up and said 'I think my friends got lost' after a night on the booze!
- Paul, London, 15/01/2009 11:29
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Tragic story but do the French police realy want to be called every time a person cannot be contacted by phone?
- Paul, London, 15/01/2009 10:56
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