A sad week in Bordeaux

Three people have been fished out of the Garonne this week, maybe four.

The first is a young man from Montpellier who was last seen in the wee hours mid January near a night club in the old dry docks area of the city. One of the dangers of Bordeaux is that young people, coming out of the night clubs, fall into the Garonne. The currents are strong and if the alarm is not swiftly sounded, there is little hope of survival. Often the currents and tides take the bodies up the Dordogne even as fas a Bergerac. 

The second was a young woman who fell to her death from the Pont d'Aquitaine - the suspension bridge that closes the northern loop of the motorway that rings the city. 

The third was a man in his forties who fell into the river and was quickly rescued by the firemen who have rescue boats in the city.

The fourth was a man of 86 years old. As Pat and I cycled home from the café on Friday we took the new express cycleway from the quays to our area of the city. As we turned the corner we saw numerous emergency vehicles with lights flashing (gyrophares). Pat saw a covered stretcher. I saw lots of water. We later learned that this elderly man had been discovered on the banks of the Garonne.