A French driver, injured in a leg by the explosion of his car near Jeddah, has been operated on in Saudi Arabia and will be repatriated to France, announced the organization of the Dakar while the Saudi authorities have ruled the track of a “criminal” act.
The organizers had explained that they did not rule out a “malicious act” and security was reinforced around the bivouac. But the Saudi Minister of the Interior dismissed any “suspicion of a criminal order” to explain this “accident”. According to him, five French people were in this assistance car, of which “one was hospitalized and is in a reassuring state”. “The driver of the car sustained a serious leg injury and had to undergo surgery. His condition is improving. His vehicle was stopped by an explosion, the origin of which is still unknown at this stage. Saudi woman immediately went there and began her investigations, ruling out any possibility, including that of a malicious act “. Race director David Castera said the driver was Philippe Boutron, 61.