“A deafening noise”: the sudden collapse of a cliff into the sea in Biarritz, in the middle of a heatwave, cost the life of a woman on the evening of Wednesday June 24, while another diver was reported missing, according to the authorities who suspended the search for the night.
The collapse of “approximately 2,000 m²” of rock occurred around 8:20 p.m. near the lighthouse, in the heart of the seaside town, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques prefecture announced, without putting forward any hypothesis as to its cause. At that time, many bathers were on the nearby Miramar beach, with temperatures having exceeded 40°C in Biarritz.
“According to initial information, three divers from the region were in an area located at the foot of the cliff at the time of the landslide,” the prefecture wrote in a press release.
A first body, that of a woman, was recovered, authorities said shortly before 11 p.m., while another person remained missing. The third diver, “physically unharmed but severely shocked”, was taken care of by emergency services, according to state services.
Already landslides in 2018
In a photo released by the prefecture, we see the cliff largely cut, with a pile of rubble at its foot. On the Biarritz town hall website, Bernain beach, located near the collapse, was closed to swimmers due to the risk of landslides.
According to a local association for the protection of this cliff, which goes from Miramar to the Chambre d’Amour beach in Anglet, other landslides had already occurred in June 2018, or previously in April 2008.
The search, carried out by firefighters supported by specialized teams of divers and rescue teams in dangerous environments as well as a gendarmerie helicopter, was called off around 11:45 p.m., the prefecture said. The system “will resume tomorrow (Thursday) after an assessment of the stability of the cliff to avoid further collapses,” she added.
Former star rugby player Serge Blanco, elected mayor of Biarritz in March, visited the site. “Given this collapse and the presence of an imminent risk for users of the public domain”, he “immediately issued an order prohibiting access, swimming and navigation within a perimeter of 300 m from the foot of the cliff”, indicated the town hall of Biarritz in a press release.
