FRANCE: MONTIGNY-LE-BRETONNEUX: FUNERAL OF AVALANCHE VICTIMS скачать в хорошем качестве

FRANCE: MONTIGNY-LE-BRETONNEUX: FUNERAL OF AVALANCHE VICTIMS

(27 Jan 1998) Natural Sound Mourners gathered on Tuesday for the funeral of nine students and a teacher killed in an alpine avalanche last Friday. Despite freezing winds, 6 - thousand people gathered to say goodbye, including Bernadette Chirac, the wife of the President. Other French officials included Youth and Sports Minister Marie-Georges Buffet and Segolene Royale, the junior education minister. The funeral took place in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, southwest of Paris, where most of the students grew up. Thousands of flower bouquets were laid by the gymnasium were the funeral of ten of the victims of the alpine avalanche was held. The funeral took place in a school gymnasium in their hometown - Montigny-le-Bretonneux, a small village southwest of Paris. The service was broadcast on loudspeakers and projected on a large screen outside the gymnasium which was only open to families and fellow students of those who died. Six-thousand mourners gathered outside the gymnasium to take part in the funeral, despite the freezing cold, to show their respect to the victims and their families. Inside the gym, each coffin was covered by a sky-blue shroud with pictures of the victims on top. Bishop Jean-Charles Thomas of nearby Versailles read a message from Pope John Paul II, who urged families and friends of the victims to maintain their courage. Thomas thanked those who turned out for the funeral as well as the nationwide response to the tragedy that has deeply affected thousands of people all over the nation. The Bishop also cautioned the victims' families and friends to avoid feelings of vengeance against those who may be proven responsible for the accident. The group's lead mountain guide, Daniel Forte, has been put under formal investigation for the deaths of the teenage students and two adults killed in the avalanche. Nine other students were injured. Forte, who is a guide for the Union of Fresh Air Centers of Chateauroux, an organization partly funded by the Youth and Sports Ministry, could be charged with manslaughter and putting the lives of others in danger. An avalanche warning of four on a scale of five had been posted before the group left. Some of the children died when they were slammed into trees, while others perished under the weight of the snow. Prosecutor Michel Selaries said Forte's arrest was aimed at protecting him from possible anger over the deaths. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...