Rescue workers on Monday searched the seas off a southern French island for a 12-year-old British boy who disappeared at the weekend while riding his bike during strong winds, officials said.
The boy, Pierre Barnes, had just arrived on the small Mediterranean tourist island of Porquerolles with his English father, French mother and his two brothers and sisters when he went out Saturday on his bike as the winds barrelled at 130 kilometres (80 miles) an hour, officials said.
The bike and a boy’s shoe were found by a creek.
“When it had been established he had gone missing, the weather conditions were exceptional. This element must therefore be taken into account,” area prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux told AFP.
A maritime rescue boat left Monday morning to scour the seas off the island while three fire rescue craft with divers aboard searched the island’s coastline, officials said.
In the sky, a French navy helicopter flew over the area while on the ground dozens of security forces and police officers carried out searches.
Dogs were also used in the search from dawn on Monday.
Hunt for British boy, 12, missing on French island
