Girl dies in lighthouse plunge during TV shoot

A CHILD acrobat has died after falling from a lighthouse during the filming of TV show about some of France’s most famous monuments.

The Cap Ferret lighthouse, Bordeaux, where Lilou fell. Picture: AFP/Getty Images

The 12-year-old, named by the French media as Lilou Gaudé, was killed in the accident at the Cap Ferret lighthouse in Bordeaux on Thursday evening.

Regional newspaper Sud Ouest reported that aerial acrobatics company Adrenaline had been hired for the programme and that the dead girl, whose father Nicolas Gaudé owns the firm, was part of the act.

She is said to have fallen several metres.

It is understood the cameras had not been rolling at the time.

Emergency services were soon at the scene but the youngster died shortly after their arrival.

Both her parents are said to have been present at the time of the tragedy.

The France 3 Aquitaine channel states that her father Mr Gaudé is the chairman of the aerobatics company Bordeaux Adrenaline.

He was taken to the University Hospital of Bordeaux in a state of shock. Specialising in aerobatic shows, the company was contracted by the TV production company Morgane.

The young girl died falling on “the awning stone of a lighthouse porch”, said the sub-prefect of Arcachon, Dominique Christian, after a problem with a rope.

A source close to the investigation has said that “her father was supposed to ensure” the safety of the rope.

In an attempt to clarify the circumstances of the accident, police seized the equipment used in the filming, including a drone, with officers set to examine footage as part of the inquiry.

Public broadcaster France Télévisions said filming of The Favourite Monument of the French by the Morgane TV production company had been suspended.

It has extended its condolences to the family.

YouTube footage was posted in February this year of Adrenaline at the same lighthouse, which showed an acrobat performing aerial stunts around the tower while suspended from a wire.

Early yesterday, France Télévisions issued a statement announcing that the shooting was halted, and they were “waiting to understand the circumstances that led to this tragedy”.

It read: “France Télévisions has learned with great sadness of the accidental death of a girl in the rehearsals of the show The Favourite Monument of French whose distribution was planned on (channel) France 2 in September .

“France Télévisions has requested filming of the show be temporarily halted. We and the entire staff of France 2 share the pain of the family and offer our condolences.”