An explosion during Dakar car rally in Saudi Arabia has prompted French prosecutors to launch a terrorism investigation
The incident occurred when a French vehicle involved in a stage exploded during the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia last week. A co-driver was injured in the blast.
In a statement on Tuesday, the prosecutors said the explosion happened on Dec. 30 in the Saudi city of Jeddah. It said five French nationals had been in the vehicle at the time of the blast.
French news outlet FranceInfo reported on Jan. 1 that an explosion hit a support vehicle being used by the French rally team Sodicars.
Citing race director David Castera, FranceInfo said the explosion happened as the support vehicle left the team hotel to head to the start of the race stage. It said Philippe Boutron, co-driver of the team’s race car, suffered a serious leg injury and had to be hospitalized.
