A collision between two pleasure boats in the Golfe de la Napoule left ten people injured and one man missing off Théoule-sur-Mer late Sunday night, prompting a major air and sea search that continued into Monday morning.
The two vessels, a small yacht and a semi-rigid inflatable, collided around 11pm, according to a statement from Alpes-Maritimes fire services to France 3 Côte d'Azur. Eleven people were aboard the two boats in total, eight men and three women including four teenagers. CROSS MED, the regional maritime rescue coordination centre, transferred ten injured to the ports of La Napoule and La Rague, four in absolute emergency and six in relative emergency, before helicopters evacuated them to hospitals in Cannes, Antibes, Nice and Toulon.
A 24 year old man who had been aboard the inflatable remains missing. "Other passengers alerted us to a man overboard," the president of Cannes' sea rescue service, the SNSM, said. A naval helicopter, SNSM vessels and fire service boats were deployed through the night before search efforts were suspended and resumed again at 7am Monday. Fifty firefighters and 29 vehicles responded to the incident overall, with maritime authorities reiterating the importance of following navigation rules, maintaining a permanent watch and wearing safety equipment while at sea.