French anti-terror agency to investigate Dakar Rally blast

The explosion at the Donatello Hotel in Jeddah on 30 December injured Frenchman Philippe Boutron, a suburbanite for the Sodicars Racing team.

Event organisers the ASO subsequently reinforced security at the bivouacs in the days without the incident, and the French anti-terrorist organ has now spoken that it is investigating the circumstances. 

The explosion, which was once stuff investigated by the Saudi Arabian police, occurred in the French team’s assistance car, that was delivering five other people withal with suburbanite Boutron.

He suffered serious leg injuries that required emergency surgery, and has since been airlifted when to France at Percy Military Hospital in Paris and placed into an induced coma.

A statement from Sodicars Racing confirmed: “He was immediately taken superintendency of by the medical teams, he is in the hands of experts and is accompanied by his family. His legs were damaged by the explosion and he was placed in an strained slumber to unstrap his suffering.”

Rally organisers have limited themselves to speaking of a “malicious act”, but the question remains as to whether it was a terrorist incident.

A statement issued on Tuesday evening from the French anti-terrorist prosecutor\'s office said it has begun investigating the “attempted murder linked to a terrorist enterprise”, with investigations entrusted to the Directorate-General for Internal Security.

Since the incident, Boutron\'s co-driver Mayeul Barbet has been quoted as saying: “Philippe was at the wheel and the flop placed in the marrow of the car under the pedal exploded 500 metres from the hotel. At that moment, there were six of us in the car and we were shocked and didn\'t move.  

“Then the car started to shrivel and Philippe asked me to go and help him out of the seat. He couldn\'t finger his legs.”

Boutron, pictured on the 2021 Dakar, has been evacuated when to France to receive remoter treatment

Photo by: A.S.O.

The French foreign ministry has made it well-spoken that all the vestige placid in Jeddah will be reviewed to determine what exactly caused the explosion. 

“An investigation is underway in Arabia to determine the rationalization of the explosion,\" the French government organ confirmed. “The proposition of a criminal act has not been ruled out.” 

The rally is currently stuff led by Toyota suburbanite Nasser Al-Attiyah, despite the three-time Dakar winner only finishing eighth on Stage 3. 

Carlos Sainz set the fastest time for Audi, the first stage win for the new electric car that is making its competition debut.